CHAPTER 1: WAR REPARATIONS
by femmefan1946
Summary: This is the story of how Malcolm Reynolds, rancher, soldier, orphan, builds a new family.
1. Chapter 1-WAR REPARATIONS

_This is the story of how Malcolm Reynolds, rancher, soldier, orphan, builds a new family. It should be mentioned that building a family can mean adding children and if you don't know where babies come from, well, sometimes when a mummy and a daddy love each other very much, they share special kinds of cuddles that can start a baby. Some of those cuddles will be described in great detail._

**CHAPTER ONE - WAR REPARATIONS**

The Alliance colonel looked over the prisoners, seated in the auditorium of the ship.

"Gentlemen. As you know the Independents have signed the surrender and part of the  
agreement was an amnesty for troops.

"With a very few exceptions, some high ranks and accused war criminals, this will be  
considered an honourable discharge. We are all citizens of the Chinese-American  
Alliance and you will have the full privileges of citizenship.

"You will be released to your home planet or to the planet of your choice. The Alliance  
will provide transportation. You will receive your back pay, in Independent scrip, which  
can be exchanged for Alliance coin or scrip at par for the next 60 days. After that  
Independent scrip will be demonetized.

"You will receive a new set of clothing, the same clothing that discharged Alliance  
troops will receive. There are to be no differences made between the soldiers of each side.

"Some of your fellow soldiers still require medical care. They will be treated in Alliance  
military hospitals until they are capable of being discharged. If necessary, this treatment  
may continue for the rest of their lives.

"You will receive an Alliance ident card. You have the choice of being chipped with it or  
not, like any other citizen. If you have any personal identification, including dogtags or  
papers, please have them ready for the clerks.

"Are there any questions?"

Zoe looked over at her sergeant. "I reckon we'll pass on being chipped, sir?"

"I just want to get home to Shadow. The ride will help, money will help more. But I don't  
even want the gorram ident card. And I definitely am not bein' chipped like a steer."

"I dunno where my family ship is. With luck the purplebellies will be allowing us to send  
waves."

"Come to Shadow, if you have any trouble findin' 'em. My mother would be right  
delighted to meet you."

"Will do. And that's us dismissed. I'm in the A line – the R's are over there."

"Thanks Corporal."

The Alliance clerks were surprising fast at processing the few survivors of Serenity  
Valley. Most had no ident except dogtags. A few claimed not to have even those. New  
lives and new identities were being formed.

The Alliance ship was set up like a military base on the edge of a small town, with  
a civilian population catering to the off duty needs and desires of the uniforms. The  
released prisoners could stay in barracks or with luck find a hotel room and privacy for  
the first time in months.

The next morning found Mal Reynolds lining up at a public Cortex. He spotted Zoe just  
back of him and called out , "Found your ship yet?"

"No response from my mother. My father's account is closed. I think that means we've  
lost him. I'll try my brothers next"

"I'm up next. Stay with me. I'll introduce you to my mother. "

"You really lookin' forward to goin' home? There was some heavy fightin' on  
Shadow I hear. Things will have changed."

"Everything will have changed. But with a ranch, nothing changes. Cattle need tendin',  
buyers need findin'. Be nice to see a clear horizon and purple skies again."

"Purple?"

"Yeah, somethin' to do with protozoa in the oceans. I was surprised the first time I saw a  
blue sky."

"You're up, sarge" said the Browncoat leaving the console. " Best of luck with your  
wave."

"By your manner, you found your folks?"

"Yes, Off home to Canton. "

Mal punched in his mother's code and his own. "Account closed" flashed on the screen.  
"Please hold for verification."

"That's odd," said Zoe. "There was nothing about verification on my father's closed  
account."

"Please print out this document and bring it to Alliance War Reparations."

"Sounds bad."  
"Naw. Just government gettin' in the way. I'll try it again."

Same result.

"War Reparations",

The clerk looked at the printout and asked Mal for his ident card. "Ah, Browncoat. Well,  
this is usually connected to a payment for expropriated property. Give me a moment, Lieutenant."

"Zoe, I don't have any property. The ranch is my mother's, free and clear. No  
mortgage, no husband, no partners."

"I'm not happy about this either, sir."

The clerk returned. "Looks like this will take a little longer than I thought. Could I ask you  
to return tomorrow at 1400 hours?"

Mal agreed, puzzled.

"And, soldier? I am sorry for your loss."

"Loss….."

"Your mother's death. During the fighting on Shadow."

"Fighting. She's a rancher, not a soldier. What happened?"

"I'm sorry, sir. I don't have that information. Perhaps I will have more information when  
you return tomorrow."

_The War Reparations are based very loosely on the Marshall Plan set up in Europe after World War II. The Americans encouraged the rebuilding and growth of Germany, having concluded that the oppressive Treaty of Versailles which ended WWI, was a root cause of WWII, and planning to prevent a reoccurence._

_Any large bureaucracy loses track of what is happening on the fringes. I don't see the Alliance as an evil empire. To some extent, they were probably right that the Rim worlds would be better off with Central controls. Look at the oppressive local Rim governments we see on Canton and in the episode "Heart of Gold". _  
_The Alliance also has a medical outreach as we see in _The Train Job_, where the central government is supplying, apparently free, medicine to the miners, which is stolen by the Serenity crew for the criminal Niska._

_Canon has it that both Mal and Zoe were recorded by a grateful senior officer with their battlefield ranks. They then received mustering out pay based on those ranks. I am assuming that they are already aware of this._


	2. Chapter 2 - A RANCH ON SHADOW

CHAPTER TWO - A RANCH ON SHADOW

_Follows immediately on WAR REPARATIONS._

Zoe found one of her brothers near Persephone, running 'transport', which was  
probably smuggling, since that had been the family specialty for  
generations.

"Alleyne is a Cornish name from Earth-that–was. We've always run to smugglers and  
pirates. Kinda traditional for us." she explained to Mal.

"So you have a job to go to?"

"Guess. Not my favourite brother and he don't know where mamma is. Not her favourite  
son come to that."

"So what now? I'm up for gettin drunk, gettin laid, and having a meal with some food in  
it. Not necessarily in that order. Wanna come along?"

"Up for the food. Up for the drunk. But not for the ruttin', if you don't mind. At least not  
us two. War's over."

"Huh. Okay, fair enough, let's see if there is a restaurant good enough for us on this boat. Then a bar  
bad enough."

Both were still hungover when they got back to War Reparations.

The clerk had a thick file ready for Mal. "The fighting on Shadow was short and sharp.  
Alliance troops landed without trouble and requisitioned civilian products for resupply of  
troops in the field.

"The civilian leadership acquiesced and terms of payment were worked out. Whether  
those terms were unacceptable to the farmers, ranchers and manufacturers or whether  
they were Browncoat sympathizers is not clear from the records. There was armed  
resistance to Allied troops collecting.

"It remains unclear whether troopers got out of hand, or whether they were acting on  
orders, but many ranchers and farmers were killed. Your mother is recorded as one of  
the fatalities. "

Mal sat stunned. Zoe put her hand on his thigh.

"I don't know if this is worse or better, Captain Reynolds." continued the clerk. "As Ms.  
Reynolds' only relation, you are her heir. However, as part of the subjugation of the  
rebellion, all the livestock of the rebels were seized and the properties razed. There is  
no ranch any more. The land, at this time, is unusable from herbicides and  
fire. Again, it is not clear if this was a rogue action on the part of troopers or if orders  
were given from a higher authority.

"What is clear, is that the Alliance is making reparations for the collateral damage of the  
action.

Mal just looked at the clerk. Zoe had seen that look in Serenity Valley after they had  
been told to lay down arms. She tightened her grip on his thigh.

"The Alliance has made funds available to purchase the expropriated lands at their pre-  
war value. In addition, the seized livestock will be paid for under the agreement made  
by the Shadow authorities before hostilities erupted."

"血淋淋的该死的猪狗屎袋，烂龟骨"

"Well, yes, " said the clerk, "Would you like a cup of tea?" She smiled nervously. "I'm not  
allowed anything stronger at my desk."

"Give us a moment, please." asked Zoe. "this is a lot…"

"Of course. I'll make that tea and give you a moment to reflect."

"混蛋官僚窝囊废。他妈的茶。" swore Mal.

"She means well. She is tryin' to be kind."  
"Well, it's not workin'."

"Try to cool down. This is a lot to take in. We could pretend last night all was shiny, but this is today  
and this is reality, sir."

"Zoe. All I want is to go home. Rebuild. Take care of my mother, maybe find a girl and  
make a new family. Now…"

"We can still go to Shadow, sir. There may be something there for you."

"No. Folks out our way… it wasn't the expropriation. They were all Independents. There  
were half a dozen signed up same time as me, with their families' blessing, just like I  
had. Now they're all gone, murdered by some rampaging purplebellies… 为人类肮脏的  
卫生纸中央政府道歉"

"I'll say it again, sir, I'm not disagreeing. But let's see where the path leads before we  
start hittin' people."

The clerk reentered the room with a tray. She poured for Mal and Zoe, then took her  
own mug. "World's Best Mom" it said. Mal looked at it bitterly.

"Oh. I'm sorry. My girl gave this to me for my…" she extended her hand to Mal, who  
pulled back swiftly.

"Perhaps we should keep this business-like." Zoe said flatly.

"Yes. Well. The proving of the estate will be expedited. The inspectors who are looking  
into Shadow have already approved the funding and all we need is to prove that you are  
in fact the heir. Your ident from yesterday will be enough for that. "

"Seems sloppy."

"Well, Ms... ? , I'm sorry, we were not introduced."

"Corporal Zoe Alleyne. I served under Sergeant Reynolds until we were ordered to surrender at  
Serenity Valley. We were mustered out with battlefield commissions. Still seems strange to us."

Mal was still staring at the mug.

"I'll assume you are in his confidence, then. The estate comes to 250 thousand  
platinum. That should be enough to set up a new operation on another world. Frankly,  
from what I saw in my research yesterday, it will be a long time before Shadow is  
inhabitable again."

Zoe was, if possible, even more expressionless than usual.

The clerk forged on, "We will set up a bank account that Captain Reynolds can access. We  
prefer a second signer, because many of the recipients are still a little,.."

"You think the sergeant would try to drink that 250 thousand platinum 'thout  
supervision?"

"Sadly, Corporal Alleyne, it has happened. These times are difficult for soldiers. On both  
sides of the peace."

"Sir. Are you up to speed yet?"

"Zoe?"

"Shall we set up the account? Are you willing for me to be your second signer? "

"Yeah, yeah. Fine. Then what….Let's get out of this"

"Could you set up the account for him. If you need time.."

"I will, but if you came back at this time tomorrow, I should have the paperwork  
processed and ready to sign."

"Thank you , Corporal Shen. And I apologize for the sergeant's less than pleasant and calm  
demeanor."

"He didn't try to stab me, like the guy this morning, so I'm fine. Tomorrow at 1400?"

"臭烘烘的厕所"

Zoe took Mal back to the hotel room they had shared the previous night.

" Sir. If I can make a suggestion?"

"What is it Corporal?"

"Come with me to Persephone. It's an urban world, mostly. I've been there before, as a  
kid, we based there when us kids was doing our Federal Twelve prep. Take a look  
around, some R&R. Mebbe get a picture of where you want to go from there."

"What's in it for you?"

"Someone to stand with me against my brother. Suspect I'll need that. A friend, I hope.  
And maybe I have an idea for a business opportunity…."

-  
_Mal was from a rural world. His family, which had 40 employees , would have been quite comfortable. Today an employee is generally expected to make 10 times his salary for his employer to be worth hiring. Between the loss of a large ranch and several thousand beeves , I don't think 250,000 is particularly generous. And how much is an abandoned, non-running spaceship worth anyway? You can buy a used 18-wheeler truck for about $30 thousand. _  
_It makes sense that Zoe would be the one to think of shipping as a future. She has the background in the field, even though she would have joined up at about the same age as Mal, she is a few years older. And the mention of piracy was intentional. The Alleynes are not necessarily criminal, but they do have an eye on the main chance. And Zoe here has the trust of a shell shocked friend with a suddenly fat wallet._


	3. Chapter 3-In The Market

CHAPTER THREE- IN THE MARKET

Mal saw the purplebelly patrol before Kaylee, who was inspecting some pears at a fruit stall in the Boros marketplace.  
Pulling her into an alley, he pushed her up against the wall and covered her mouth with his, hiding their faces.  
Kaylee was startled, but made no objection, and when Mal thought the patrol had passed, he opened his eyes and broke the kiss.  
"Sorry, mei mei, I didn't want the feds to see us so soon after that last job here. You okay?"  
"Sure, cap'n. You can have me up against a wall anytime you like."  
Kaylee sauntered back to the fruit stall.  
"Well, that's good. " thought Mal, "Hey, what did she say!"


	4. Chapter 4- Inappropriate Touching

CHAPTER FOUR - INAPPROPRIATE

Zoe and Wash smiled at the sleepers on the chesterfield in the lounge. Both Kaylee and the Captain had dropped off during vid night and slept peacefully as the rest of the crew quietly cleared up the remaining shrimp crackers, popcorn and other salty snacks.  
"Captain needs his sleep. He's been walking around late at night again." said Zoe. "Kaylee seems pretty out of it too."  
"Leave them. If you wake Kaylee, you'll wake Mal. Then he'll be clomping up and down the corridor all night."  
As they left for their bunk, twined together, Kaylee slept on with her head on Mal's chest.

Nearly an hour later, she stirred. Moving her head she found her face less than a centimetre from Mal. She grinned at his peacefully sleeping face, and his deep breathing,not quite a snore. She closed the tiny space and kissed his cheek. "I love my Captain, " she murmured.

Kaylee gazed at his sleeping face, for once calm and showing his actual youth. She always had been aware he was a handsome man, but sleeping he looked perhaps even a little angelic. The anger and melancholy erased by slumber. She kissed his lips. Startled by her own daring, she withdrew, but there was no reaction.  
Kaylee was intrigued. Mal often kissed her cheek or her head. He called her "mei-mei" and hugged his "little Kaylee". He loved her like his own sister.  
But that mouth was like... satin or something. Even this late at night his breath was fresh and sweet.  
She kissed his mouth again and touched her tongue to his slightly parted lips. She sighed and kissed him again, willing him to wake and kiss her back.  
He moved, without waking, and slipped from almost upright to prone on the chesterfield. Kaylee slipped down with him, still with his big arm across her shoulder, almost pinning her to his chest with the weight.  
The move put his delicious mouth out of her easy reach, and she sighed. Her hand moved across his broad chest and she felt the muscles there, strong, firm, and heavy.  
Kaylee knew that the Captain thought her out of bounds. He thought she was a kid who needed protection. Heck, he'd promised her daddy he would take care of her. But looking at his sleeping face she realized that he was not the mean old man he claimed, barely over thirty she thought. Maybe ten years older than she was.  
Her hands explored his sleeping body gently. His broad chest, his strong arms, his narrow hips. She wished he was on his side so she could touch his lovely ass. But on his back, that was out of reach. Out of bounds.  
Guiltily, she ran her hands over his thick thighs. Then up his inner thigh and... perhaps not... she gazed at his sleeping face and gently rubbed his cock through his pants. She felt a slight stirring and it firmed perceptibly at her touch. Not erect but definitely bigger and she wondered how big it got when he was fucking.  
What was she thinking? This was so inappropriate! But her soft strokes did not stop and his pants were starting to look a little strained.  
Kaylee was feeling a little strain herself. Her belly was clenching with excitement. Release was usually in her own hands with the help of some interesting gadgets she had purchased in various stopovers.  
Mal shifted and moved his own hand to his cock. Then seemed to fall into a deeper slumber .  
Kaylee reached out to the buttons of his fly and his cock was free. She stopped and admired his manhood. Large but not uncomfortably so. Thick but not too much to stretch...  
Inappropriate. Inappropriate. Inappropriate.  
And he was circumcised. Kaylee liked uncut men for fucking but ... if she was going to suck a cock, circumcised was just... nicer.  
Kaylee slipped a little lower and licked the tip. She knew boys liked when she blew them and she'd been told she was pretty good at it. She ran her tongue around the helmet and then pushed her mouth over and down, running her tongue along the sensitive vein. He was too big for her to take all of him in her mouth, but she moved, and sucked and hummed quietly while his breath quickened and his hips moved involuntarily.  
She ran her tongue along his slit and cupped his balls, still inside his pants, in her hand. Mal mumbled, just syllables, not English or Chinese, and jerked as he came in her mouth, hot and salty. Kaylee was caught a little unawares and nearly choked. Her eyes flew up to his face, but apparently he was having a dream. A very very pleasant dream.  
She reached over to the low table and found a napkin to spit the come into and wiped the inside of her mouth.  
Mal's erection was disappearing, which was a little disappointing, but she tucked his cock back into his pants and fastened the buttons. Slowly, she slipped from his sleeping embrace, kissed his satin mouth again and slipped off to bed.

"I am a bad bad man," thought Mal. "A bad bad man." And grinned. And fell back asleep.

_This would be before the Tams board Serenity. There is, I think, agreement that Kaylee has a strong sex drive. And that Simon doesn't. Just as his options are limited on a spaceship, so are Kaylee's. And she may not be as willing as Jayne to visit brothels when dirtside. Inara is already travelling with them._


	5. Chapter 5 - Still Inappropriate

CHAPTER FIVE  
STILL INAPPROPRIATE  
DELPHINIUMS  
Kaylee always tried to sit next to Mal on vid nights. Even if they were not touching, his solid warm body nearby was delicious. And she hoped that one night he would drift asleep again during the program.  
Her thoughts dwelt on the night she woke beside him on the chesterfield and … well, inappropriate touching had ensued. Since Mal had not awoken, even when her naughty mouth brought him to orgasm, she had wanted to repeat the experience, but maybe this time with him awake and participating enthusiastically.  
A girl can dream.  
But Mal had taken to sitting in one of the chairs, by himself, since that evening. Kaylee was a little disappointed. She loved being cuddled by the Captain. And she thought he liked the little hugs and pecks he gave her, as if she were a puppy, instead of a grown and admittedly horny woman.  
Tonight, as he often did, the captain had dozed off during the program.  
The handsome, broody, Captain. Who treated her like a puppy.  
But still handsome. And distinctly male. And it had been a long time. Kaylee sighed.  
Mal shifted in the recliner. Kaylee found the afghan that her mother had given her when she left home on the chesterfield and spread it over him, since he looked to be settled in. Mal's insomnia was well known among the crew, who often heard his boots in the corridor in the small hours of ship's night.  
But the gesture and the slight weight of the blanket woke Mal fast, like the combat veteran he was.  
"Kaylee, what are you doing?"  
Kaylee pulled back," I just gave you a blanket 'gainst gettin' cold. I'm sorry I disturbed you."  
"That's all? "  
"Well, yeah." but she blushed, remembering the last time she had been alone with the sleeping man.  
"Okay... Just... I...Thank you, mei-mei."  
'I'm not your mei-mei, you know," Kaylee found herself saying. "Do you really only think of me as your sister?"  
"Ah, lil Kaylee, you know that's just 'cause I'm right fond of you."  
"And I'm not that little,either. You may have ten centimetres on me, but I'm fully grown! I've been a woman for more'n six years." Kaylee was amazed that she was speaking aloud.  
'Kaylee, honey, I know that, but this mean old man..."  
"Oh cut it, Mal! How old are you anyway? Thirty one ? Thirty two? I'm twenty - you're nowhere near the age of my daddy and even he 's only bout forty two."  
Mal was as shocked as if a kitten had roared like a lion. " What is this all about Kaylee? What's got you so riled?"  
Kaylee found herself crying. "I don't want to be your mei mei. I want... I wish you were calling me bao bei. I don't want your little hugs. I want to be in your arms. I want you ... " She gulped. "I want you inside me."  
Mal sat up stunned.  
"Kaylee... "  
"Oh I know you don't want me like that. I'm just your pet. Petted when I do a good job with the engine. Ignored when you want to pretend what I'm asking for is just a whim."  
"Kaylee..."  
"Maybe I should just go home. I had offers. Two proposals before I was eighteen. Four more before I left. I could have a husband and a couple of babies..."  
"What would Serenity do without you?"  
"哦，闭嘴"  
"What would I do without you?"  
"Find another mechanic. Keep sniffing around Inara till one night she decides she wants a bit of rough. Or not."  
"That's not true."  
"Which part?"  
"Kaylee, I can't get involved with crew. It's not appropriate. I can't play favourites. "  
"You have such a pretty mouth. Please just shut up and kiss me." and Kaylee half leapt , half fell onto Mal's lap.  
"Oof. Well, that shows me you aren't a little girl. Damn sturdy woman in fact."  
"You're still talking."  
Mal's hand went to the back of Kaylee's head, his thumb wiped away the frustrated tears from her cheeks. He pulled her down and kissed her like a woman.  
Kaylee looked into his eyes while they kissed. She saw the tenderness for her there. And very quickly, lust. It had been a long time for Mal, too. His tongue flicked her lips open and touched hers. His hand on her head tightened.  
Mal pushed the afghan away with his right hand, then pulled Kaylee closer at her tiny waist. "Bao bei, I don''t want ever to make you cry. And I apologize for treating you like a puppy. Sometimes... I had to touch you, because you make the cloud go away. The big black dog that catches me. All the things that scare me. "  
"Oh."  
"I don't really know how to make sweet talk. The war ... Some of the soldiers were women, but,honestly, Zoe was the softest of them and it took a lot different man than I am to find that out.  
"But you make my life sweet. I'm .. I'm scared that makin you something more than that sweetness will change that. And since you ... since the other night..."  
"Oh... You were awake."  
"Not zactly. I thought I was having a really good dream when I felt you unbuttonin my pants. And then it was so good I didn't want it to stop."  
"Oh. "  
His hand moved from her waist to her back, sliding under her gauzy blouse. She could feel his erection growing beneath her hip.  
"Would you make me feel that good, please, Mal?"  
"Kaylee...things would change. Are you sure, because really I'm not sure. I don't want you to be less to me than you are now."  
Kaylee pulled Mal out of the recliner and over to the chesterfield, where her inappropriate behaviour had begun all this. She lifted her arms and Mal pulled her top over her head, then bent down to kiss her unencumbered breasts. Kaylee slid his suspenders off his shoulders and laughed when they got caught up in his arms circling her waist. Her hands went to his pant buttons, and she pushed down britches and underpants together.  
Mal stopped and looked seriously into her eyes. Whatever he saw there, made him smile and step back, which made him drop onto the chesterfield. He gave her a big grin. And he bent over to unlace his boots.  
Kaylee skimmed out of her own boots and her trousers, stopping for a moment to pose coquettishly in her cute flowered underpants. Mal looked up from removing his own pants and socks and gasped. " 宇宙光 . You are the most beautiful woman..." His hand reached out and stroked the curve of her waist and hip then back to her ass. He pulled her naked body to him and sighed as he kissed her belly.  
"I want to make you happy,"  
Kaylee lay back on the sofa cushions, enjoying the scratchy boucle fabric on her skin. She felt alive and tingly, not just because of the clench of excitement in her belly. She stroked Mal's hair. "Please"  
She grasped his cock, enjoying the stiffness and the heat in her hand. A few strokes and he grunted and pushed into her hand. She guided him to her centre, wet and ready for him. She thought she had been ready for him since the first moment she had seen him, then he was gently pushing into her. Each stroke made her clench tighter, but her tightness just made him more excited .  
"I'm not hurting you?", he asked in concern. She smiled and kissed him. "Push harder," she commanded. "Come into me- all the way in."  
Kaylee had found Mal too big for her mouth but she knew she could handle everything he brought her. As he filled her, she felt complete and content. And when he started to move, her hips moved instinctively in a sweet counterpoint to his.  
Her breasts pushed against his firm chest, giving delicious friction to her nipples. He lay on her, so entranced with their joining that he rested all his weight on her, and she loved it. She loved the solidity of him, the hands on her head and her ass, stroking, the heat of his body in the cool night temperature of the ship.  
She found delight in looking into his eyes while he focussed on hers.  
She shivered as his pubic bone bumped and rubbed on her clit. And when his pushing found the sweet spot in her cunt, she had to bury her mouth in his shoulder to muffle her cry, hoping that no one would waken. The soft cry made his movements fiercer and faster. As her orgasm peaked, his began and the hot feel of him coming in her pushed her even higher.  
"Oh."  
"Huh."  
And they smiled into each others eyes. And shared a kiss.

_American readers should know that "a bit of rough" is a British expression referring to sexual relationships involving members of different social classes. There is not necessarily any S&M reference, unlike the American "rough trade". In spite of Mal's relatively wealthy background, which he rarely mentions, from a Core perspective, like that of Inara and Simon, he and the others of Rim origin would be rough in their speech and manners. And some would find that gave a frisson to a relationship...for a while. _


	6. Chapter 6 -Viola Tricolor

CHAPTER SIX  
Viola tricolor  
_In addition to War Reparations and A Ranch on Shadow, this chapter is preceded by In the Market, Inappropriate and Still Inappropriate. It follows immediately on the last._

When Kaylee opened her eyes, Mal was gazing at her. His face was solemn. For over a minute, they were silent.  
"Good morning." "Good morning."  
Mal stroked Kaylee's cheek. His eyes were moist and as he touched her, tears formed.  
Kaylee felt tears form in her own eyes. She pulled herself towards the captain and kissed his mouth. Softly with her lips closed. He sighed.  
"What do we do next bao bei?" he asked.  
She kissed him again. "You sometimes think too much Mal. Personally I've gotta pee. " And she pulled herself over him to the other edge of his narrow bed, stopping for a few seconds to savour his solid body beneath her own and to rub her breasts again his bare chest. Then she skipped across the captain's dorm room and used the fold down commode.  
She washed her hands, then, feeling sticky and sweaty from their vigourous night, used the cloth to give herself a swift "society bath" as her mama had called it.  
She bounced back to the narrow bed, where Mal was looking stunned at her matter of fact attitude to what had opened an unexpected door. She pushed him aside as she climbed in beside him. "Go and make your self clean again" she said and as he obeyed , she added "是圣洁的 Mal, you have a really cute bum." She laughed again as she saw the blush rising up his chest to his face. Who knew that the tough captain could be embarrassed by a slightly bawdy compliment?

"I should git started with the day…" he muttered.

Kaylee was dumbfounded that the confident and skilled lover of the previous night was acting like the Ferris boy back home whose parents were real churchy types. When Kaylee was able to catch the eye of the boy, and show him some interesting things a boy could do with a girl, he too had been enthusiastic during and embarrassed after.

"Mal, bao bei, you are a prude." she exclaimed, "C'mere and let's go again, put that mornin wood to best use. We're in the black with nothin goin on for days. Who'd notice us disappearin for a few more hours?"  
Mal was still looking embarrassed.

_This chapter basically is set before Serenity took on any more passengers. Things change when the Tams arrive and Kaylee takes an interest in the handsome and exotic young doctor, so different from the "rimrats" she knows._


	7. Chapter 7 - Inara is Brazilian

It had been several weeks since Serenity had been near any prosperous world and Inara had been getting more and more annoyed with the Captain.  
"Without clients I cannot pay my rent and without my rent, Serenity cannot afford to fly." she fumed. "If you are not able to stop regularly at the kind of community where I can find work, it will be necessary for me to leave this ship and find transport that can accommodate my business."  
Mal had hemmed and hawed by finally gave orders to fly to Greenleaf where Inara had several existing clients and where he thought Serenity could pick up some cargo to transport, legally or not.

At dinner Inara asked Kaylee to visit the shuttle and help her with some preparations for her appointments.  
The rest of the crew were fascinated. How could their mechanic help a sophisticated and elegant Companion prepare to meet her wealthy and aristocratic clientele?

"I hope this isn't too strange, mei mei.," Inara told Kaylee once they were in the privacy of her quarters. "But while I can manage most of my cosmetic routine myself, there is one ritual that requires the help of another. It is very important to me and to my clients, but you may find it strange."  
"Wow, Nara. I'll help however you like, but what in the Verse could I help you with? I don't usually wear any makeup cept a little lip colour for fancy."  
"Well it's not what I would be adding. It's subtracting actually.  
"Have you ever had a Brazilian?"  
"That was a country on Earth-that-was, right? I didn't know there were any people around who would still call themselves Brazilian."  
"I'm a little surprised you knew even that, actually. But it isn't a person I'm talking about. Brazil was famous for its beach culture, which sported extremely beautiful women and men who wore very minimal clothing to show off their bodies.  
"To show those bodies to best advantage, they removed all their body hair.  
"A Brazilian is a method of removing body hair. Specifically pubic hair. And most Companions follow the same routine. It's part of our mystique, but being away from civilization and cosmetic parlours for so long… well, what I need is help removing regrowth."  
" I guess. That has to be the strangest and probably most kinky request I've ever had. Do you have a razor? Should you have a hot shower first to soften the hair?"  
"We don't use a razor. That regrows too fast and the stubble is harsh, like a man's beard."  
Kaylee thought about the rough cheeks of some of her lovers. Even the Captain's relatively light beard could be uncomfortable in the morning.  
"So… how?"  
"Wax. What we do is spread warm wax across the area, then push strips of cloth onto the wax. We allow the wax to harden a little, then pull the strips off quickly, like taking off a bandage. The hair comes off with the wax quickly and cleanly and doesn't grow back for weeks."  
"Okay, that sounds easy enough. Would you do me after I do you?"  
"Do you think Mal would appreciate it?" Inara laughed."Certainly. I have enough wax to do you and Zoe and River. Maybe we should do a girls' night?"  
"Yeah! Give our men something to think about! Well, Riv doesn't have a man, but we can't very well leave her out. Lemme go call them."  
"When you do, ask Simon for some smoothers. First time waxing can be uncomfortable. I have some lovely soothing cream for any skin irritation."

When Zoe and River arrived, they agreed that a spa night would be fun. Inara opened her cosmetic trunks and pulled out a huge variety of skin oils, pumice stones, tweezers, body lotions, as well as hair curlers, straighteners, and thickeners. Zoe surprised the other women by producing a large box of perfumes and more lotions.  
"Wash keeps buying me stuff. But he has no idea what I actually will use."  
Inara looked at some of the labels. "You're right. Some of these are quite expensive too. I'm surprised he can afford them."  
"I guess I'm worth it to him."  
The other women laughed companionably.  
"Of course you are, Zo," said Kaylee. " The sun shines out your ass, as far as Wash is concerned."  
"Pretty much."  
While they chatted the women had stripped down to their underwear. While Kaylee wore practical cotton, her panties and bra featured cute kitties and flowers. As expected, Inara wore delicate silk, but while the pieces were cut to expose a lot of flesh, there was also a lot of coverage. Zoe surprised them all. Her brassiere was of dainty pink lace with heavy boning to support her heavy breasts, but there was practically no fabric at all in the matching thong.  
River pulled off her loose dress and bicycle shorts, revealing that she did not wear either a bra or panties.  
The shuttle had a fold down commode and sink combination, like the dorm rooms, but no actual bathing facilities. The women were used to sponge baths and took advantage of having friends to wash their backs and get their hair thoroughly rinsed.  
Kaylee made sure that River's long tresses were washed and rinsed. Inara added a scalp massage to the youngster's treatment and smiled as the girl relaxed and cooed under her clever fingers.

"So who wants to go first with the waxing?" asked Inara.  
"You asked me to do you to begin with, so why not me do you and we can all see what goes on?" Kaylee volunteered.  
"Fine. Also I'm used to it so there will be nothing to startle me."  
Inara heated the sweet smelling beeswax over her tea making stove. She stripped the fine satin sheets off her bed and replaced them with linen, which could be cleaned without damage from any wax drips. She lay down on the sheets and removed her panties.  
"Now, what you have to do is cover my mons veneris, and external labia and perineum with the warm wax. Then quickly, before the wax starts to harden, press the cloth strips into the wax.  
"Once it cools, you pull the cloths away as hard and fast as you can."  
"Okay, got it, except for what are mons veneris, and external labia and perineum?"  
River leaned over the Companion and spread her legs apart, "All over here and here and back here."  
Kaylee was overcome by a fit of the giggles. "I'm not used to this view of women." she explained.  
Zoe passed her the pot of warm wax. "If you can't manage, I think I can."  
"Nope. I'm fine. Just like painting a fence. Tell me if the wax is too hot."  
"Oh, you'd hear if it was!" laughed Inara.  
Kaylee worked quickly. Although the task at hand was unusual, she had quick reflexes and was able to cover the area and press the strips of cloth into the wax in very little time.  
"Okay, Zoe, do you want to do me?"  
Unlike the thin new growth Inara was concerned about, Kaylee's hair was fine and fairly long. Zoe had never seen pubic hair so straight, not even on her very blonde husband. Her own bush was thick and springy, curlier than her luxurious locks, which had straightened under their own weight. Inara, only slightly inconvenienced by all the wax and cloth adorning her crotch, prepared Zoe once she had completed decorating Kaylee.  
The three women were over come by laughter as they surveyed their ridiculous privates.  
River looked on solemnly.  
"What about you, Riv?" asked Kaylee. "Do you want to be as silly looking as we are?"  
"The bandages are on the wrong place."  
"Well, I think we're ready to remove them anyway. Do any of you want an analgesic?" asked Inara.  
"Don't see why. Should we take yours off first?"  
"Yes. As quickly as you can, so everything comes at once."  
Inara braced herself as Kaylee grabbed a loose end and pulled hard, using her strong mechanic's arms.  
The Companion let out her breath with a whoosh and grabbed the bottle of inter engine whiskey Kaylee had brought to the party.  
"Wow Inara you're as bare as a baby's bum! Why would any grownass man want a woman that looks like a little girl?"  
"Actually don't answer that. It could be too disturbing." said Zoe."Me next?"  
Inara gave her some pills. "Take them. This can be uncomfortable for a little while after the strips come off."  
"I can do uncomfortable."  
Inara grasped the strips at Zoe's belly and pulled hard. Zoe gasped and lunged forward. "圣洁他妈的龟睾丸 ！" She yelled. Then she grabbed the whiskey from the side table and gulped it down.  
"You're next, Kaylee, mei mei" crooned Inara.  
"May hap be I could just wash it off?" asked Kaylee stunned by the reaction of the warrior woman, a woman who had stoically accepted multiple gunshot wounds in the time Kaylee had known her.  
"It's just the surprise, mei mei. Honestly, it's over really fast, and then we'll put some of this nice tea tree oil and aloe on lie back."  
"No power in the Verse can stop her," murmured River.  
Nervously Kaylee lay back on the linen sheets while Inara grasped the cloth strips and Zoe pranced in the background grasping her own crotch and swearing imaginatively in English and Chinese.  
Inara pulled and Kaylee's groin caught fire. Pain swept over her and her eyes nearly popped out of her head."一条紫色的蛇血 ！他妈的喂养 mulllet 肝脏的底部!脏土褐色 ！绿色的眼睛麻风昆虫 ！" she screamed.

In the cargo bay, the men were playing a fast game of nameless ball. When the screaming erupted, they stopped and stared up at the airlock entrance to the shuttle.  
"Usually you can't hear a thing that is going on in there." said Jayne, with a lascivious grin.  
"And I've spoken to you before about tryin' " scolded Mal. "Think they're all right? Could that sister of yourn gone batshit on them?"  
"Zoe's up there. She could handle anything short of a Reaver attack, all by herself." Wash replied." Besides the only one of us River has ever hurt is Jayne. "  
"I could go and see. But Inara did ask me for some smoothers.."  
"And you gave them to her? What kinda party did she say they were havin anyways?"  
The initial scream, which Mal had identified as Zoe, based on some war cries he had heard from her in the distant past, was replaced by a higher pitched stream of filthy language.  
"That sounds like Kaylee," said Mal. "she don't sound too happy."  
"Should we go up?"  
The men turned to Wash, as the married man and the one with the most experience in living with a woman.  
"I think we should let them work out the problem themselves. They seem to be a mite upset at the moment and it wouldn't do to make them decide it was us they are upset with."


	8. Chapter 8- More Appropriate - Cyclamen

CHAPTER 8 - MORE APPROPRIATE  
_This chapter takes place between "Safe" when Simon really started to notice Kaylee and "Our Mrs. Reynolds". Your idea of "It's been a while." may vary from that of a healthy thirtysomething man. Two weeks? Two months?_

At the New Dunsmuir spaceport, Kaylee had set up her lawn chair outside the cargo ramp and was watching for possible paying passengers, when Mal squatted down beside her.  
"Lookin ta fill up the rest of the passenger cabins, bao bei?"  
"If they got money to pay, don't see why not, Cap'n."  
"Might not be the safest for your doctor and his sister, I'm thinkin."  
"He's not my…." Kaylee blushed.  
"But you'd like him to be, right?"  
"He's real shueah, Mal. An yeah, I'd be right interested if he made a move."  
"Then I guess, I should step back a bit. Give you more space. I can't say I like the boy, but he is a good doc, and … he's closer to your age."  
"Oh no, Mal! I don't want you to step back. And we've talked bout this "old man" shit before. You're in your prime. Y'are prime, ask me." Kaylee's wide hazel eyes were direct.  
"Look, mei mei. We had an ... arrangement and that's bin good. But you shouldn't see it as long term or anything to make you avoid findin someone better. I'll step back and let you see where things go with the doc."  
"Does that mean I can't come to your bunk any more? Cause that's been some of the best fun I've had on this boat."  
"I won't say I haven't enjoyed grapplin with you, mei mei. But mebbe it's time to stop and let you find someone more appropriate. An I can't see anyone as proper as the doc makin any move if he thinks we are something."  
"Aren't we? " Kaylee pouted. "I kinda thought we were special. Not just that I was the only piece of ass available to you."  
"Kaywinnet Lee Frye! Don't ever let anyone call you that! If ever does, call me and I'll caponize the bugger!"  
Kaylee's eyes brimmed. She folded up her chair and took it back into the depths of Serenity.  
Mal stared after her. "Idiot." he thought. "Gorram idiot."


	9. Chapter 9 - Lilac

CHAPTER NINE  
LILAC

The crew had split up to enjoy the pleasures of landfall and there was no communal dinner that night. Simon and River were cautiously confining themselves to the ship however, and Simon had sent out for pizza to be delivered.  
The cargo ramp was down, but the airlock door was closed for security. When Simon heard the buzzer, he opened the door with his coin in hand. But rather than dinner, Kaylee was at the door, her arms filled with parcels, mostly leaking grease and all looking heavy.  
"Let me help you with those." He exclaimed, still trying to get used to the idea of this cute girl being the caretaker of a spaceship. The women his family knew may have been as likely to be professionals and salarymen as the men, but he knew no women who worked with their hands. It was easy to forget the women servants in the household. Even civil engineers worked with computers, not steel beams and ceramic trusses, which were handled by robot workers. Kaylee fascinated him. And her natural joy and frank speech puzzled the Core boy, used to carefully calm faces and circumspect words.  
"I'm okay. Just bring that dolly over here so I kin dump this stuff for sortin later." Her coverall was sweaty and her hair was coming loose from her pigtails. Simon thought she was the cutest girl he had ever seen.  
"你吃了吗？, he asked politely in Core accented Mandarin.  
"I grabbed some dog on a stick at a vendor a while back. I guess I'll just forage in the icebox."  
"I've sent out for a pizza. There will be lots, I ordered an extra large just to have leftovers. "  
Kaylee was delighted. This was as close to a date as she could imagine.  
"Umm. Actually." the doctor continued. "could I take advantage of you?"  
Kaylee gaped. Simon blushed.  
"Oh,uh. I meant. When the delivery gets here, could you take the pizza and pay? I'll give you the money. I just thought now that it might not be too wise to show my face on an Alliance world like Beaumonde."  
Kaylee deflated, but kept a smile on her face. "Sure. Cap'n had to tell me not to look for more passengers this aft. I hadn't thought about your sitchation."  
"I'm profoundly grateful for the understanding of the Captain. And for the rest of you on the crew. We are putting you in a difficult position."  
"Nah. We'd be sneakin around anyways. On accounta the crime. There's the buzzer." But she was disappointed at being part of "the rest of you".

When Mal got back to the ship, he saw Kaylee and Simon in the kitchen laughing over their meal. River was with them, leaning against her brother and picking at her food.  
Without disturbing them, he went to his bunk.

He stared at the bulkhead above his bed remembering the previous night when Kaylee, falling apart in his arms had murmured, "Si…." and stiffened before kissing him frantically. He told himself it was right to let her go where her heart was leading her. He had no right to keep her to himself.

_Wanna ruin a romance fast? Just murmur the wrong name while making love. Seriously. Voice of experience._  
_Kaylee started being more aggressive about pursuing Simon during the Jaynestown episode._

_And, what? You think there won't be pizza delivery in the Verse? _


	10. Chapter 10 - Amaranthus Caudatua

CHAPTER TEN- LOVE LIES BLEEDING - Amaranthus caudatus

AFTER THE BDM-_ Nothing ever goes smooth, especially the path of true love. Now was that Mal Reynolds or William Shakespeare?_

Follows CHAPTER NINE- LILAC but actually the entire series is pretty well between Chapter Nine and Chapter Ten.

_Mal and Kaylee were very private about their sexual relationship during the period of the series, although it's doubtful it was a secret to the core crew. And we saw Mal call it off when he decided that Kaylee was more interested in Simon than some "mean old man." Kaylee did make Simon her lover at the end of the BDM, but he would remain distracted by his sister and at any rate is much more repressed than Kaylee. Although he did not come out until well after the movie, Sean Maher did allow his personal sexuality to show a little during the movie._

Follows CHAPTER NINE- LILAC but actually the entire series is pretty well between Chapter Nine and Chapter Ten.

-  
Mal watched Simon through the infirmary windows for some minutes before entering.  
"Simon, got a minute for me?"  
"Certainly, Captain. Are you unwell? I rarely see you here unless you are actually bleeding."  
"No. No. Mmm. This is... it's …Look, you know I don't like romances on my boat 'cause it gets all complicated, but … Kaylee is not happy and you seem to be the reason."  
"Oh. Um. Yes, I know I've been less than forthcoming with her recently."  
"Yeah. To the point where she's weepin on my shoulder in the engine room. I hafta take a towel in with me in self-defence."  
"Well, you are the sort of man who always knows where his towel is."  
"Bad joke, Doc. I'm not laughin."  
Mal grabbed Simon's shoulders and held him stiffly."What's goin on in your head that you could treat the sweetest dumplin in the Verse so gorram cruel? We need…_I_ need her happy and workin so's this boat don't drop out of the sky."  
Simon's pale blue eyes gazed into Mal's sapphire ones.  
"I don't want to be cruel. Kaylee is exactly what you say, the sweetest, nicest, most adorable girl I've ever met."  
"And she's crushin on you but you are ignorin her…. Again."  
"I'm not comfortable talking about my, our, relationship."  
"Well, get comfortable. I need Kaylee happy. How do you intend to make that happen? She says you two ain't had … relations for weeks. And I'm tellin' ya, Kaylee needs relations. Bad."  
"Mal, I'm…It's not Kaylee. I adore her, but …I'm not the man she thinks I am. It's complicated."  
"Cain't you uncomplicate it? Yer more free than you have been since you got on this boat. Yer lil sis is better, able to cope with flyin Serenity, and learnin how to be a grownup woman. You c'd even go back to doctorin in the Core if that's what you want. Maybe-hap our lil Kaylee doesn't fit in with that plan?"  
"I'd be proud to introduce Kaylee to my parents. She may have some rough edges, but my mother would see her true worth, I'm sure. My father might take longer. That's not the problem. And I'd love to practice medicine in a real hospital again. I don't think I really pull my weight here. That's not the problem. And you're right about River. Serenity gives her enough structure that she can be a useful and centered person, in spite of all the damages inflicted on her. That's not the problem."  
"Then what is the gorram problem?"  
Simon reached up and pulled Mal's mouth to his. The kiss was hard and desperate.  
"Huh."  
"Yes. You're the problem. Or I am. I love Kaylee, but I want you."  
"Look. I'm sorry. Could I repeat my policy on shipboard romances? No. I'm sorry. Okay. This was unexpected."  
"So. No chance, then."  
"Yer a nice guy an all that. But… I really do lean towards women. One woman in particular."  
"Yes, I think we all know about you and Inara."  
"Beautiful woman. Mysterious. Never know what's goin on in that head. It 'ud drive me crazy tryin to live with that one."  
"I can understand the attraction."  
"What? I'd surely like to bed her, and I'm fair sure she might acquiesce in a weak moment, but I'd never know her, never know whether she was with me or just performin. Don't know if she would know either. Such a thing as too much trainin. She's a right smart woman but she's a pretty painted doll, too. Like Mr. Universe' Lenora."  
"Like a sexbot? Well. That's a cold assessment."  
"Nah. I'm bein 's a lot more to Nara than that. Course there is. Right smart woman and has the makins of a pretty good criminal, if she turned her mind that way. Them Companions… sometimes I wonder if that Saffron was as much of a rogue as we thought."  
Mal dropped his grasp on Simon's shoulders, pushing Simon's hands off him as he did.  
"So, upshot of all this. You're sly and Kaylee has the wrong plumbing."  
"If I can be as vulgar as that statement, sly as a fox in velvet britches."  
Mal laughed. "Okay. You'd better explain the sitchation to Kaylee. And apologize for wastin her time. And bring a towel. We good?"  
"Do you mind being in a few late night fantasies?"  
"I did NOT need to know that!"


	11. Chapter 11- Family Matters

CHAPTER ELEVEN -FAMILY MATTERS

After dinner, Mal announced that they had a new job  
"We're going to Osiris."  
River screamed.  
"Calm yerself, Tross. You'll be on the boat not dirtside,and Jayne will be with you all the time for your protection."  
"Hands of blue. Hands of blue." Her hair swung forward to the floor as she crouched into fetal position.  
"Doc. Can you help lil sis?This is your caper after all."  
"Simon?" River's head shot up and she glared at her brother.  
"Shh, mei mei. We can leave you with Kaylee's family if you don't want to come to the Core with us. Jayne would be with you there too, just in case. But we're not outlaws anymore. We can show our faces. We can even visit Mother and Father."  
"No. No. They'll turn us in. They'll send me back."  
"Huh. This plan is already not goin smooth. Riv. River. I'm makin a command decision. You ain't goin to Osiris. We'll stop and leave you with Kaylee' folks. I got something to talk to Mr. Frye about anyways. You'll be safe there. Jayne, you fine with bodyguardin our Riv?"  
"Sure, Mal. Long's I get ta go inta town from time to time."  
"We won't be gone long. So. That's settled."  
"Why are we goin to Osiris in the first place, sir?"  
"We're takin a customer who owes us money to get that money."  
"And that would be me. It should have been apparent to me before, but when those warrants for River and I were disappeared by the Operative, my bank accounts were unfrozen. I am, or will be, surprisingly rich. But I have to go to Osiris to clear up any questions of identity.I also want my parents to know that I am not actually dead or imprisoned. If I wanted to be very cold about it, I want to make sure I am back in the will."  
"Simon!"  
"Old saying, Kaylee, I've been rich and I've been poor. Rich is better."  
"So you'll be leaving us?" asked Zoe "What about River's future?"  
"No, having access to my money will make it easier to care for her. I hope to continue to travel with you. I even have some ideas about that."

====================================================================  
The Fryes were happy to have their girl back for a visit. And Mal's talk with Mr. Frye seemed to be successful, since they were seen sharing some of Mr. Frye's finest vintages  
"Last Tuesday month! Smooth!" cracked Zoe.  
Mrs. Frye was tearful when it came time for the crew to leave. River and Jayne, as arranged, were to stop until the crew returned.  
"River can help me with the sewing. You can sew, can't you, sweetie?"  
"I can knit."  
Mr. Frye suggested that Jayne and he might find time to visit a few customers who had outstanding invoices. Jayne gave his most terrifying grin and flexed intimidatingly.  
"It will be nice to have young people around the house again" said Mrs. Frye.  
"Mummy. Jayne is the same age as Daddy!"  
"Well, then, houseguests. New people, with new stories."  
"I'm beginning to understand where you come from, bao bei." grinned Mal

-  
And now, Osiris.  
Inara had been almost giddy at the prospect of visiting a Core world and making some serious money. She had made her availability known and between her previous clients and the whisper of the exotic that her travels to the Rim gave her, now had a busy schedule of appointments.  
"All short." she complained to Zoe and Kaylee. "I won't have much time to get to understand my clients. Well, needs must."  
"Are they nice men?"  
"Kaylee, dear, I do get to choose my clients. So of course, they are all gentlemen. Well, actually, not all are men. I have booked a couple of women as well."  
"Do any of them make you laugh?"  
"Some are amusing, Zoe. Even witty. But…not many are like your Wash. I… we…" Inara's eyes brimmed. She shook herself." You're going to a ob-gyn while you're here?"  
"Yes."  
"Simon ain't got much experience with birthin. Petaline's baby was the first he'd done his own self. So Zoe's getting checked out while we're here."  
"What are your plans, Kaylee?"  
"I'll go with Zoe as sister support And goin shoppin at the junkyards for parts, o'course. Pickin's should be real good. And ... And Mal is takin me around too."  
"Has Mal ever been to Osiris?"  
"We was mustered out here. Can't think what Mal would have to show you though. We got out of the ship that brung us, processed and left for Persephone . Wham bam thank you mam."  
Kaylee blushed under the scrutiny of her friends. "Well, he just said he wanted to take me around."  
Inara smiled. "Would you like to borrow a dress for this excursion? I have a green that would look much better with your colouring than mine."  
"I'd feel like a dope if it was too fancy."  
"No. Just a day dress. Simple, classic. Just right for a young woman visitor."  
"Sure!"  
Zoe kept her own counsel.

Simon had called his parents from Inara's shuttle, using her Guild account. The Cortex connection from the Black was weak, chosen especially with advice from Inara, who instituted more waves than any other crew member. She was fairly sure the wave would be difficult to trace back to Serenity.  
In the event, his parents were welcoming. At any rate, they wanted to meet him as soon as possible.

They met, not at the family estate, but at an elegant restaurant near Gabriel Tam's offices. Simon, dressed as formally as when he had boarded Serenity three years before, felt awkward and out of place, although he had often taken suitable young women there to dine and dance when he was a rising young doctor.  
His father was stiff. His mother in tears. Simon was unsure if either response was real.

"You look so old," his mother whispered. "There are lines around your eyes. And your clothes are so worn."  
Simon kissed his mother's cheek. "We were on the run, Mother. We were in danger every day, travelling with a rough bunch of Browncoats, mercenaries, a mad pilot, a mysterious Shepherd and a sweet girl mechanic who stole everybody's heart."  
"Your heart, Simon?" asked his father. "Are you here to tell us that you have a wife and a litter of Rimrat brats to present to us?"  
Simon grimaced. "The crew wondered where I got my talent for saying the wrong thing. No. I might have married her, but luckily for her, I fell in love with the Captain."  
"Well. That's a surprise. Do we get to meet him? I presume this captain is "him"."  
"Yes, definitely male. He turned me down, not being sly. But nicely. Perhaps you'll meet. We're friends, better friends than we were when I met up with them all.  
"But I'm here on business, not to discuss my personal life. I want to reclaim what was seized from me when those warrants were published. I hope you will stand with me as identification at the bank, my broker. I want to sell my apartment, too. Most important, I need to get my medical license cleared up so I can practice legitimately. It was dangerous for us, for all the crew, for me to have anything that could help trace me. Everything I have is forged."  
"Right. I'll have my admin set up the appointments. I assume today is best? The apartment has a good tenant; are you sure you want to sell an income producing property like that?"  
"Yes. If possible."  
"Simon, darling. Are you going to come home with us? I want to have a big party to celebrate the return of the prodigal."  
"Mother. I…no. I really don't want that. Those are your friends, not mine. I'll be calling a few of my old Medac friends, if they will talk to me and if their wave addresses are still valid. And the first mate is pregnant, so I need to get up to speed on midwifery. Especially since she could kill me with her pinkie if I don't deal with her to her satisfaction."  
"What awful people!"  
"No they are really wonderful. They are closer than a family. They stand together whatever adversity they face. We've had adventures…"  
As the meal arrived, and Simon ecstatically ate the skillfully prepared fresh natural food, he regaled them with tales of those adventures, tidying up parts that might disturb them. The fate of Petaline's baby's father went unmentioned. The crew ran a transport ship, with no mention of smuggling. Even the shipment of cattle became a funny story, without any arrests, kidnappings, wounded Shepherds or witch burning. Simon unbent enough to sing the Ballad of Jayne Cobb, sotto voce, to the amusement of his mother.  
And though the lunch lasted for two hours, and Gabriel spent another five with his son re-establishing his credit with their various financial institutions, the name 'River" went unmentioned.


	12. Chapter 12 - Eglantine Rose

Zoe's pregnancy is established in the comic book sequels to the BDM, particularly Float Out.  
CHAPTER TWELVE  
EGLANTINE ROSE  
Zoe, always quiet, always calm. had over the past week become tensely silent, her gaze a thousand yard stare.  
Kaylee was the first to notice that she had stopped eating, taking only small portions from the common dishes at supper and just pushing those around her plate. Nor had Kaylee seen her eat at any other time, although the crew rarely ate any meal but dinner together. She asked Simon if Zoe had asked for any anti-nausea meds for morning sickness, but he had not given her anything.  
Mal had seen this in Zoe before- but not since she had married Wash. If Zoe had had any episodes during her marriage, Wash had helped her through them. But now the First Mate was a widow, a pregnant widow, and Mal was thinking it was his duty once again to see her through.  
And he knew the closeness and comfort they had shared in the past would face a barrier. Kaylee. And Mal's so recently renewed intimacy with Kaylee.  
Could Kaylee, so young and optimistic, understand that the comfort he and Zoe shared when the terrors came was not a challenge to her?  
Mal and Kaylee were in his bunk, sipping tea and enjoying some quiet time together.  
"Zoe is hurtin."  
"She does seem down. Simon says she must eat if only for the baby." Kaylee never had any problem with food. Her sensuality covered all the pleasures of the flesh.  
"It's the war again. Both of us deal with that aftermath every day. We stayed friends after, partly because we each knew what the other did. Then Wash took over from me. I really think he helped her more than I could..  
"But I guess, it's back to me again."  
'Well, o'course. Goes without sayin really."  
"Yeah. I'd be with her now- mebbe even days ago, but ,well, I wanted to be sure you understood that Zoe and me, it's real close, real intimate.. but it's not like us, you'n me. Just...it's different."  
"Zoe ain't me. I ain't Zoe. O'course it's different."  
" No. I mean. We never told Wash, denied it even. Lied to him. We said we'd never been lovers. And I don't think that was untrue. But we've used each other for comfortin, more often that we could count probably, durin the war and after.  
"And Kaylee, darlin, I won't apologize for that. Not for the sex and not for the lies. But I don't ever want to lie to you."  
"Oh,"  
"So if I go to Zoe and help her through this, comfort her, let her see that the past is another country and that she has a future, even a bright future, will you accept that?"  
"Oh."  
"I'm not askin permission to cheat on you or to chase some cheap skirt. I respect and care for your more than anyone I've ever known. Never want to hurt you."  
Kaylee began to realize why Mal had been so reluctant to act on his attraction to her. Calling himself an "old man" and a "lecherous hump" . She knew he was a good decade older than her and that those years included losing a vicious war, his family, his home, leading a criminal life, arrests. He carried more wounds than those she could see on his body.  
"Why did you tell Wash you had never been lovers?"  
"Because we're not. Sometime we need the closeness, breathin the same air."  
He reached an arm around Kaylee and pulled her into his shoulder.  
"Bein with you ... you keep all those demons away from me. And Wash did for Zoe. Mebbe it's more intimate than bein lovers. It's a lot more intimate than ruttin."  
"Yeah. I guess. The boys back home- that was just fun. And with Simon-even before he decided that he really leaned more to men- I think- don't get a big head or nuthin- but going with you had kinda spoiled any chance of findin anythin deep with him. Just wasn't there."  
Mal marvelled again at the depth of wisdom this young uneducated Rim girl brought. Her joy in life was an artesian well that drew from the deepest heart of her.  
"It's post traumatic stress disorder in the books. Shows different ways. Zoe shuts down. I get angry and make stupid plans. She gets cold and mechanical. When we're not bad off, it can work well. Worked real well when we bought Serenity. I was tryin to escape hearin what happened to m family on Shadow. Zoe saw that with the reparation money and her family background on smugglin ships we could make a living and still fight the purple bellies. The plan was all hers, so it was a good one. It was all her that started the business. I guess I own Serenity, and getting her runnin was my project , but it was Zoe who had contacts, found a ship through her brother Alcibides, knew Badger, or at least knew the guy Badger took out- got our first jobs.  
"And when there was just us two, durin the war and the pow camp and settin up the business we were as tight as any two people could be- but somehow- and Zoe is a very fine woman- there was never that sex buzz. For us just not there..."  
"How do you want us to be , Mal? Are we building something? Or are we just having a little fun now and then?  
Because I can do either, y'know? But if I do find somethin serious, I think I'm like Zoe. One woman, one man. No freebies. I want my babies to know who their daddy is and for him to be raisin them by my side."  
"I hate seein Zoe hurtin. And I know I've helped her foretimes."  
"This might be a different hurt, Mal. Not the war. Wash. Are you sure that what you offer is what she needs now?"

"Dunno. Maybe, mayhap."  
"Or not...We could try another way. Nara's trainin... she knows a lot about how people tick. She's told me some of her clients have right strange problems… nothin too specific, eh? but may hap she could talk to Zoe first."

Inara's training includes a lot of practical psychology. If she debuted at 18 then she started her career just as the war ended. MB was 23 at the time of the series although Inara was somewhat older. (Let's ignore the theory that she was much much older and possibly even immortal). I would assume that a Companion would get advanced training in dealing with PTSD in a post-war society.


	13. Chapter 13- Monty's Pretty Baby

_It is 2524, some six years after Miranda. Hope is about five years old. Derry is nearly two. Mal and Kaylee married in 2522. Inara is still alive but left Serenity, and Mal, for her teaching post in 2519. as her health began to fail. _  
_River is 24. Simon about 30. _  
_Zoe is 40._  
_Kaylee is 27. Mal is 38._  
_Jayne is 47._

Zoe filled her shopping cart with carrots and potatoes.

"We need garlic too, Mama," Hope reminded her.

Her mother looked at the list she had put together while they were still in the Black. Now on Persephone, here in the Blue Sun Produce Depot some of the staples seemed like  
luxuries. Why was salt so expensive?

_Black pepper_

_Soy sauce_

_Hoisin sauce_

_Sugar cane/beet_

_Hot sauce (Barbados style)_

"At least we can buy the canned foods in bulk," she muttered.

_Tomatoes_

_Peaches/pears/oranges/pineapple_

_Corn niblets_

_Pork loaf_

_Sardines_

"We can get salt on Bellepheron, mama. They have an ocean!"

"You're right, baby. But I don't know if the price will be lower. The salt beds are owned by Blue Sun too."

"Why?"

"They paid for terraforming that world, so they own a lot of the resources. Same all over. Sometimes they did the terraforming, sometimes they bought out the corporation that did it. They own a lot of resource worlds."

"Is that why we ship so much…."

"Hush, child. We don't talk about work in public."

"Well, blimey, if it ain't the beautiful and dangerous Zoe Washburne."

Zoe turned swiftly, pushing her daughter behind her and backing both of them against the wall.

"Oh. Badger."

"Didn't know Serenity was in town, sweet'eart. You an Mal gonna be droppin in on me?"

"Maybe."

"Let Mal know that I've got a simple two way deal if he's innerested. Cargo out, and cargo back."

"Mmmph."

"An' who's this pearl? You lil Hope, darling?""

Hope looked nervously at the small, grubby man. He seemed friendly enough, but she didn't like him.

"I've a brickie 'bout your age, too. Bùzhòu nǚ'ér. Wife Sandy's kid."

"You're… married?" Zoe exclaimed.

"Four years back. We're five, Two other men and another woman, plus assorted kids. Like your family."

"We're not polyamorists."

"Best thing I ever did. Nothin' like family to keep a man healthy and focussed. An good for business. Sandy's got a house on the docks that c'd support us all, if necessary. We're expandin' ex-pon-en-tially. Tell Mal to get in touch, we can work together. An'

bring the kid, I'll innerduce 'er to our Vickie."

Badger left, pushing a cart filled with expensive imported oranges,

"I don't' like that man, mama. Do I have to play with his stepdaughter?"

"No, honey. He's just business, not a friend. You'll probably never see him again."

"There are dried mushrooms and sea vegetable in Aisle Four, mama. Are those on the list.? And noodles."

Mal was amused by Kaylee's sentimental reaction to Badger's marriage.

"C'mon, cap'tn. He found true love. Four times over! Ain't that sweet?"

"Just amazing that even one person would consider that grubby hundan that way." Mal shuddered melodramatically.

"Says he has work for us, though."

"Reckon we should call on 'im then. We don't really need the money but always keep options open.

"We always need the money, Capt'n. Kids need shoes, Zoe didn't have enough for her whole list at the Produce."

"And I missed my allowance this week. And last." pointed out Hope.

" 'Lownse" babbled Derry.

"You, sonny me lad, don't get an allowance until you can form sentences, dong ma.?"

Mal swung his tiny son over his head.

"Lownse! Lownse! Cap'n!" cried the toddler.

-  
"So what's this job you need doin', Badger?"

I gotta load of glass cannin jars to move to Herschel. Then you pick up canned goods, and bring em back here. All nice and legal."

"So why us then?"

"Yer here, aincha? It's harvest time and the cannin plants is runnin low. Had a bumper crop of…. whatever they grow there. They gotta can it or bury it."

"Herschel's off Ezra." Zoe noted.

"Look, there's no reason to fuss about that. Yeah, you had a little run in with Niska a while back."

"Run in, fuck, Badger, he killed me!"

"And brought you back!"

"Just so's he could kill me again more slow-like!"

"No reason he should ever know yer in the vin-cin. Safe as 'ouses."

Badger found himself at the end of two Death Glares.

"An' they got governance now. The Feds has appointed a new Governor and they's a IAV ship patrollin with two squadrons of SREVs for enforcement. Niska's time is gettin short."

"Alliance patrollin?"

"Legal cargo, remember? You'll have all your paperwork clean an clear. Look, Mal, I ain't gonna lie, this ain't a big cargo for me, or for you, but it could lead to more legal work. And legal money is easy money."

"We got kids on board."

"I met Zoe's brickie. You got more?"

"Got a boy, too."

"Congratulations to both of you."

"He's my boy, not Zoe's."

"We got six kids in our fambly. An one of mine on the way."

Zoe suppressed a shudder at the idea of Badger reproducing.

"Look. I need this cargo. I'm prepared to be generous about pay. An I'll make sure the _Dortmunder_ knows yer in the neighbourhood so's they can watch for you."

"_Dortmunder_? Sounds familiar."

"They've been around the Rim for years. Actually a fairly easy bunch to deal with long's they don't think you are connin 'em. The capt'n's got a stick up his ass about smugglin and salvage, but like I said, this is a legal cargo."

"Whatya think, Zoe?"

"We'll have Alliance protection, sir."

"That a yes or a no, Zoe?"

"Just sayin, sir."

-

"You're gonna take us to Ezra, Malcolm?"

"Kaylee, bao bei, it's not as big a worry as it seems. It's not Ezra, it's Herschel. It's legal cargo, both ways. And we'll be watched by Alliance ships while we're in system."

"Is that achulley a benefit?"

"It'll be fine, Don't fuss."

-

"Badger, I'm getting hot tongue and cold shoulder over this job. Not so sure we can follow through."

"Look, I'll give you my word. I'll do better n that, I'll send my bùzhòu nǚ'ér along with you. Would I do that if I thought there was any danger?"

"Yes."

"I'm truly hurt, Mal. I love that kiddie like she was my own. Which, legally she is, since I married her mother. An she's about your kid's age, so they can be company for each other."

"Hope don't need company. She's got fam'ly"

"Well, Sandy is tired with bein preggers and Vickie could do with a holiday from her, an I'd like her to learn my business as well as her mum's."

"How old is yer Vickie?"

"Seven"

"An she knows how to run a brothel?"

"Well, not ever'thin. Her sums ain't too good. But she can make pointments and do a work rota like nobody's business."

Mal was both impressed and appalled. "So you want me to teach her the finer points of movin cargo ?"

"Yep. Start em young. An this is a simple job. Legal. Easy."

-  
Vickie came aboard with a small rolling case and a large doll. Hope shook her hand, then showed her to the passenger dorm where she would sleep. Vickie looked nervous.

"Do you have your own room at home?"

"No, I share with my little brother. He's four."

"I share with my momma. She's a widow woman. I'll share with you, if you like, while you're here," Hope told her.

"I have three daddies and two mummies. "

"I have aunties and uncles, but no daddy. He got killed by Reavers," explained Hope matter of factly.

The two girls went to inspect their room, apparently satisfied with the arrangement. Mal and Zoe returned to supervising the stowing of the pallets of glass jars.

"The last two pallets are metal lids and rings," said Badger."Who you got pilotin? That pretty little thing from the old homestead?"

Mal did not reply to that. By common agreement, River's presence on the ship went unspoken. "I ain't completely comfortable with this run."

"Lookee. Here's the call code for the Dortmunder. And this here's the code for the commander. You run into any problems, scream for help."

-  
The trip to Herschel was quiet. The girls decided they liked each other and spent much of their time playing with their dolls, occasionally pressing Derry into service as an extra baby. After helping change his diaper, Vickie decided that it was time he was toilet trained and the girls harassed him first into reporting wet pants, then the need to pee.

This necessitated having many pails and bowls scattered about the ship just in case. Jayne was disgusted by this because the girls did not think it necessary to empty the used containers and it was Jayne's week on honeywagon duty.

At Herschel, the cargo was unloaded and the canning factory staff expressed delight at the fast delivery of their order. They helped smooth the paperwork at the customs office, easy enough since as Badger had promised, everything was legal and the paperwork was clean. The manager of the plant invited the crew out for a drink to thank them.

River Zoe and Jayne accepted, but Mal and Kaylee stayed behind to take care of the kids and to have a private date night.

Leaving Derry asleep in their shared bunk, Mal and Kaylee had watched a vid cuddled on the common area chesterfield and then retired to an empty passenger dorm where they could make love without worrying about waking the baby.

Serenity was closed up for the night, but the side door was unlocked to allow the revellers access on their return. The comm unit in the cargo bay was open so they could notify the captain when they got back. Everyone on the boat was in bed, if not asleep, before darkness had fallen.

"Why are you stoppin, Mal? Please... harder now."

"No, bao bei. Was there a funny noise? "

"I don't hear anything. Just you breathin. And yer heart beatin."

There was a clanking noise from the comm. Then the sound of cursing.

"That's not Jayne. Someone is on the boat."

Mal grabbed his pants and gun. Pulling away from Kaylee, and still at half mast, he was slowed in getting his pants buttoned. Barefoot he rushed through the galley to the cargo bay, in time to see two men leaving the ship each carrying something slung over his shoulder.

Mal fired at their backs and ran after them, but lost them in the shadows of the dockyard.

"What in seven hells could they have taken? There's no cargo on board yet."

Kaylee could hear Derry crying, woken by the gunshot. Nothing from the girls. She ran to check on them and found their room empty.

"Hope! Vickie! Come out! No foolin, now! REPORT!" she cried into the comm.

Mal had run out the side door and looked for any trace of the intruders. Now he returned and spoke into the crew radios. "Get back here right away. Don't stop for anything. And if you can bring helpers, do it."

-

While checking on the baby, Kaylee had redressed. Now she joined Mal on the bridge and, carrying her sleeping son, watched tensely while Mal called the Dockyard office

"No response," he reported. "Either they're closed, which they are not supposed to be, or they are not able to respond."

"Call the Hershel police." Suggested Kaylee.

"I'm thinkin the kids were grabbed by Niska's men. And the Hershel police are like to be his men."

Kaylee looked appalled.

"Why would anyone grab little girls?"

Mal just looked at her. Kaylee shuddered.

"If it's Niska, he's not after the girls. He wants us."

"Call the _Dortmunder_."

"Don't want the Alliance…"

"Fuck that, Mal. Niska's too big for us to handle. Call."

She could see Mal fighting with himself over asking help from the hated Feds. Then he called , not the Dortmunder, but the personal code of the commander that Badger had given him.

"I ain't gonna mess around with no paperpushers."

Although it was late evening on Hershel, it was apparently still the work day on the great ship city. The commander responded immediately.

"This is Mal Reynolds, captain of the cargo ship _Serenity_. I'm reporting the kidnapping of two children." The commander snapped to attention. " We're parked at the Hershel Central Dockyard. We're transporting a cargo of glass to Hershel and canned goods back to Persephone for the Persephone/ Dyton Honest Traders. We have three children on board and while the boat was closed up for the night, the two little girls was snatched."

Kaylee could see the Commander waving officers over to the cortex screen. He had also punched for a recording.

"We need descriptions of the girls and if you saw the kidnappers."

"Our girl is Hope Washburne. She's five, about a metre tall, blonde hair in cornrows, brown skin, blue eyes. The other girl is Vickie Pollard, seven, about a metre twenty, a little pudgy, pink complexion, straight blonde hair. She's not our crew, she's a friend from Persephone, daughter of one of the Honest Traders." said Kaylee.

"That information is now with every foot and car patrol on Hershel. Oberman, could you put a landlock on all the ships at the Hershel dock?"

"Done, sir" came a disembodied voice.

"That won't help with shuttles parked away from the docks." said Mal grimly.

"No. But we watch the sky constantly. Just traffic cop stuff, but useful in emergencies too. Now, you saw the kidnappers."

"Just their backs as they left. I'm ashamed to say we were not locked up. Some crew are on shore leave and we wanted to make it easy for them when they got home."

"Descriptions, Captain?"

"Both tall, both men. Probably. I saw them outlined against the dockyard light as they left. They carried one girl each over their shoulders. The girls were not moving. Can't tell you hair colour, clothing, except that one wore darker pants than the other."

"Have you notified the local police?"

"We 're not convinced that they would be … We've had some run-ins with Niska in the past."

"And you think this might be payback?"

"Have you dealt with Niska?"

"Understood. We've been building a case, several cases, actually, against him for more than three years now. I will give your information to the Hershel force, but frankly, you were right to call us first.

" I just got word that two SREV's are on their way—one has already landed at the Yard, actually. Please give them your fullest cooperation."

Mal and Kaylee heard noises in the cargo bay. Locking Kaylee and Derry on the bridge, Mal headed down with his pistol drawn. He hit the lights, blinding Zoe and Jayne as they pounded into the bay. River followed, watching behind her.

Mal quailed at the idea of telling Zoe he had lost her daughter. Then he pulled himself together and, still barefoot and shirtless, descended to meet the crew.

His news was greeted by a shocked growl from Jayne,and a roundhouse punch from Zoe that knocked him to the floor.

Jayne, thinking like a tracker, had run to the girls' stateroom and was looking for clues. The girls had been painting before bed and coloured paper and wet brushes were scattered on the floor. Jayne found a torn corner in the hallway.

"They might be tryin to leave a trail. But they won't have much paper and it's a little windy. Y'heard a clankin noise?"

"Yeah, that an some cursin made me realize there was strangers aboard. Thought someone was fixin ta rob us."

Jayne was sniffing the air. "There's yer clankin. Those hundans tripped on a bucket of baby piss. That might be useful."

A squad of uniformed Alliance soldiers appeared at the door.

"Captain Reynolds? I'm Sargeant Sheng." the fresh faced woman said." We got out orders from the Dortmunder. Is there anything you can add that might help my squad?"

"Looks like one of the buggers might smell of piss. He kicked over a pailful when they was takin the kids."

The sergeant looked disgusted at the toilet habits of spacers.

"I'm goin with you." said Zoe.

"And you are?"

"Zoe Washburne. They took my baby."

The sergeant looked doubtful. "We usually try to keep the parents away from the search party. You may be more useful here, waiting for the call."

"Call?"

"Ransom. There is reason to think the bastards were not planning to rob the ship, but had targeted the children."

Kaylee emerged from the bridge, followed by River who had unlocked the door. "Targeted? They were after the girls? Niska was after the girls?"

Mal spoke firmly to the purplebelly sergeant. "Jayne here is the best tracker I've ever met. Includin city trackin. Unless you got dogs, I'd suggest you take him along or give him a crew to work for him.

"And Zoe is a soldier. If you allow her along she will follow orders. And she has more reason to find the kids than anyone here."

Sheng considered for a moment. "Right. You stay here and wait for a call. I'll leave men on the door. Washburne, you go with Corporal Mukerjee's platoon. Do you have weapons?"

Zoe pushed back her coat to show her mare's leg pistol. Sheng nodded approval.

"Jayne. You lead Corporal Paganini's patrol in finding a trail. We don't think they will be in the dockyard, but they may have a shuttle parked nearby. They have just under an hour on us. Let's roll."  
"And Captain Reynolds, I'd advise you to get dressed. It gets cold on Hershel at night."

Serenity was lit up like a nova, every light on high, while Mal and some of the foot patrol, checked her for clues about the kidnappers.

Kaylee and River were back locked in the bridge with Derry, peacefully sleeping in his travel cot, and Sargent Sheng.

There was a buzz from the Cortex. Sheng nodded to Kaylee to answer it. She shuddered when she saw the kindly smile on Niiska's face.

"Ah, hello young lady. I think I do not know you? Do you work for Badger? He has been a very naughty boy. He took something of mine."

Kaylee trembled. What was Badger to Niska? They worked together didn't they? She looked fearfully over at Sheng, who indicated that Kaylee should reply.

"I don't know what he's done. Do you know something about the girls?"

"His daughter, yes?" Niska looked puzzled. "He has more than one?"

"I don't know. A little girl was travelling with us, a friend of … of my daughter." Kaylee realized that Niska did not know who she was nor that his men had grabbed Hope Washurne along with Vickie.

"Two girls? Sloppy of my messengers. But more for me to work with. Tell Badger to call me." And Niska closed the connection.

"Can we contact this Badger?" asked Sheng.

"Mal will have his codes. I'll call him."

"I know the codes," said River. "And Badger thinks he knows me." She pulled off her tailored jacket to reveal a thin lace camisole underneath and took down her neatly pinned hair. Looking like a waif, not the sober professional she had grown to be, River punched in Badger's codes.

Sheng and Kaylee were surprised that she got through immediately to Badger's office on Persephone, where it was evidently day.

"Well, it's Mal's little friend from Dyton. He finally let you know that I was askin fer you, sweet'eart?"

"I knew. Just not innerested. What have you done to cross Niska? What was special about this cargo?"

"Nothin'! Strictly legal, like I tol' yer captin."

"So why has he snatched our Hope and your Vickie?"

Badger's pasty face turned a little green. "Gǒushǐ, gǒushǐ, gǒushǐ." he muttered. His oily smile returned. "Nuthin' Strictly legal, just like I tol' Mal."

"Then what did you leave out?" Mal loomed over the tiny pilot. "Cause we got two missing children and no reason to think Niska would be any easier on them than on a grown man."

In spite of the millions of kilometres between them, Badger quailed at the fierceness in Mal's voice.

"Niska has a lot of straight businesses too. He's been expandin' in the strictly legal sector. Could be he wanted to be the only source for cannin' jars on Hershel. Monopoly-like."

Mal glared. River's stream of invective showed that she had been paying close attention in the rough dives the Serenity's crew had introduced her to over the past decade. Badger looked embarrassed by her language.

"You will call Niska right now. You will promise him whatever he wants." Mal said flatly. Sheng looked disturbed. Mal ignored her. "But remember, Niska isn't satisfied with square one. He will want two pounds of flesh. And that better not be Hope.'

He cut off the call.

Then he clicked "return". Badger's frightened face appeared, half turned to a dainty blonde woman behind him. "It better not be Vickie either," added Mal. Before he cut the connection again, he heard the tiny blonde say,"What was that about rVickie?"

The police had found the dockyard office abandoned and locked. They opened the door by judicious use of a targeted explosion and were able to switch on all the lights over the parked ships. The yard was brighter than day.

"Niska should be able to see us from his Skyplex," Mukerjee, the police officer leading the party muttered.

"You're familiar with Niska?" sked Zoe.

The officer grunted. "He keeps out the random crooks and grifters, but his own riffraff are probably worse. They are as nasty and vicious as …."

"Reavers?" another officer interjected.

"Don't think we've ever arrested one for cannibalism," said Mukerjee. "But we arrest them for murder, rape, assault and the next thing they're back out on the streets. Orders of a tame judge."

"Muk!" called a policeman," I think I saw some movement down this way."

Zoe was pounding down the narrow passage between a Dasher II and a Milspec Intruder before Mukerjee could give orders to his crew.

The other police party had dropped slightly behind Jayne, recognizing his tracking expertise within minutes of leaving the ship.

With little light, Jayne was using his nose to follow the faint scent of baby urine that clung to the invader's shoe. The path took him towards the back of the shipyard, where a drydock serviced breakdowns.

Halfway there, the lights came on and Jayne, blinking in the sudden flash, was able to see bootprints that might have been a little deeper and longer than most on the dirt paths between the randomly parked spacecraft.

He beckoned the police leader. "Keep it quiet. They might think they outsmarted us by goin' for the drydock. They'll have a workin' ship there."

The leader, Beatty, nodded. She signalled her crew to be silent and they nodded acquiescence.

As they approached the drydock, there were fewer footprints but the bootprints continued. The ships here were parked farther apart to allow workcrews scope. There was no actual boundary between the parking area and the repair area.

"Jayne?"

"Yeah?"

"Most of these ships are cold, but Frenchie's getting a heat signal over that way."

"Goes with the footprints."

"I'll lead with the heat seeker."

"Go."

Jayne dropped back. He didn't mind following when someone could do the job better. Besides Frenchie had a great ass in those tight purple pants. Jayne considered asking for a date when this was settled.

The squad approached and surrounded an apparently derelict Streak, a small shuttle suitable only for personal transport.

"Do the landlocks extend over here?"

"Hope so. Sheng might have assumed the station was smart enough to think of it. She's an optimist."

"There an escape hatch?"

Beatty looked unsure. One of the squaddies whispered, "I had one of these back home. The hatch is on the other side. And it can be opened from either side. There's no airlock on it."

"Bad design."

"Good for us, though."

Beatty made up her mind. "You know the craft. Get over there quiet and open the door. Keep your face shield down and all your armour in place. Don't go shooting. You got your knife?"

The squaddie pulled out his weapon and reholstered it fast enough to impress Jayne.

"What do you want me to do?" he asked.

"You've got no body armour, right?" Jayne nodded. "Then stay put near the main entry. Be the familiar face when we pull the girls out. If the bastards manage to flee, stop them, but try not to kill. We want evidence."

"Findn' them with the kids ain't evidence?"

"Evidence against Niska. Bastards'll be safer on Dortmunder telling us all than going back to the Skyplex as failures."

-  
Zoe and Mukerjee's crew arrived just as the girls ran out the entry and Beatty's crew grabbed Niska's men.

Hope clung to her mother while plump Vickie launched herself at Jayne, gripping him tightly around the neck. Unsure of what to do with a frightened child, Jayne patted her back tentatively and muttered,"There , there"

Frenchie, the soldier with the glorious buttocks, flashed him a grin from under lowered eyelashes. Jayne grinned back.

-

Back on Serenity, the girls were bedded down in Zoe's cabin, whose steel walls and lockable door made them feel more secure.

Mal struggled with the painful task of thanking the Alliance soldiers.

Sheng stopped him.

"It's our job. Peace Order and Good Government. We can't do much about the last, but we can work on the first two."

"Think you'll get much from them about Niska?"

"They're pretty low on the food chain, but we can get their bosses and maybe their bosses' bosses. Niska is running out of underlings and finding it harder and harder to recruit. But the Alliance has lots of people and believe it or not, we want things out here on the Rim to get better. Some of us even are from the Rim. Some of us were Browncoats, too."

Mal grunted.

"Don't look like that, Captain." said Sheng. "I fought with the 72nd Hera. Spent some time in a POW camp too. On Unification Day, we Browncoats hold our own celebrations on the Dortmunder. Couple of hundred of us there, remembering lost friends.

"But we think, well, I suppose some are just in it for the paycheque, but a goodly number think that the easiest way to be free is to know what the rules are and to know that everybody has the same rules.  
"Someone like Niska, he ain't no Independent, for all he crows about freedom. You've run into them tinpot dictators with big talk about freedom and silence about the slaves working in their farms and factories.  
"It's Alliance forces that will put those hundans out of business. Eventually. If we work together."


	14. Chapter 14- Honeysuckle- Negotiations

CHAPTER FOURTEEN  
Time has passed ….  
NEGOTIATIONS  
HONEYSUCKLE  
Kaylee was on fire. She wanted to scream as she clenched around Mal's cock and buried her face in his neck to keep as quiet as possible.  
Mal grunted softly as his balls tightened and he came with a hot rush. Kaylee felt his hot seed and fell apart with her own orgasm, moaning into Mal's flesh.  
They held each other closely, panting. Kaylee brushed Mal's forelock out of his eyes and wiggled her hips against his, tightening and releasing his cock inside her in a way that, sometimes, gave him new vigour.

"Mummy?" came a sleepy voice across the small bunkroom. "Mummy?"  
She sighed and kissed her husband quickly. "I'm here, Derry. Go back to sleep."  
"Can I have some water, Mummy?"  
"You can get it for yourself, sweetheart. Don't wake Daddy."  
Captain Daddy was obviously not asleep, she knew. His big hands were cupping her bare ass, pulling her closer to him, even as his cock was slowly leaving her. And those satin lips were kissing her forehead.  
She could hear their small son slip from his cot and make his way to the sink, run water and drink. Then as she expected, his hot little body was clambering in with his parents.  
"Ooh, baby boy. There's not enough room for all of us in this bed. Kiss Mummy and go back to your own bed, there's a love."  
"I like it here. There's room. I don't snore like the Captain."  
"Hey" protested his father.  
Mal's hands were on her belly now, stroking the hard bump that Simon had just the previous day confirmed was a new child on the way.  
"Don't wiggle, Captain," admonished the boy. "There 's only room for you if you sleep quietly."  
"早熟小子" he responded. His hand moved from her belly to her clit. Kaylee shuddered.  
"Now, Derry. You're too big to be sleeping in this bed. In fact, we should...uh uh... Mal, don't ... don't you think... perhaps Derry is big enough to have his own bunk? Ooh. Shiny. "  
"My own bunk? Like Jayne or River?" the boy was dazzled. "Hope doesn't have her own bunk!"  
"Well, you'd have to show you can sleep by your own self first. So go on over to your own bed now."  
"Okay, Captain!"

Mal had risen early and cooked breakfast for himself and the children. As they tucked into bowls of cornmeal porridge , with dried cranberries stirred in, golden syrup and almond milk Kaylee slowly emerged, a bit wan and got some cold leftover rice from the fridge, which she ate cautiously, adding a few drops of soy sauce for savour. Zoe, seeing her daughter already fed, poured herself some tea and helped herself to the porridge.  
"The cargo is ready for the stopover at Goldengrain, sir." she reported. "River expects we should be there in about three hours. Simon don't have a clinic scheduled, but if you have anything to do, we could send out a general wave for a dropin clinic."  
Mal was considering. "There's a good library service on Goldengrain. What town are we stoppin' at? Hope and Derry could get some new books. I think they have a toy and game library too."  
Kaylee stood up and dashed out of the kitchen.  
"You gonna make an announcement soon, sir?"


	15. Chapter 15- Passages

CHAPTER FIFTEEN PASSAGES

"Derry, you understand that Mother Serra is a very fine lady and a very old friend of the crew. Try to be on your best behaviour, please."  
The small boy looked surprised to hear the Captain saying please to him.  
"Yes, sir. I'll show her my bug collection. She'll like that."  
His father sighed.  
Outside the open cargo bay, a rickshaw was approaching with an elegant upright figure inside, dressed in Companion silks.  
"She's here, go get the crew."  
Mal Reynolds marched down the ramp to help Inara down from the rickshaw. He gave her a brotherly kiss, then looked for baggage.  
"Most of my things were sent ahead. I think Jayne will have stowed them."  
"Yes, we've put you in a passenger compartment so you don't have to do as much climbing. Besides the shuttle is just a shuttle now."  
"Not my home any more." Inara smiled and touched Mal's cheek.  
Kaylee came bounding into the cargo bay, followed more slowly by Zoe and Hope. Derry was holding her hand, making shy in front of the stranger whose visit had been galley gossip for days.  
"Hey you." " Hey you."  
Kaylee and Inara embraced and Inara stepped back a little when she felt the hard bump in her friend's belly. She raised an elegant eyebrow. "Two months," whispered Kaylee." We're not saying anything for a few more weeks."  
Zoe hugged Inara. "I think you remember Hope." The slender preteen made an elegant curtsey. "She's become addicted to historical romances on the Cortex. Still it does wonders for her deportment."  
Derry pushed forward. "I'm Derrial Reynolds, m'am. Welcome to Serenity" and he made a presentable bow.  
Inara laughed. "I remember you from my last visit, but you were very small then, so I don't think you would remember me."  
"I'm five now. And I do remember your nice smell. Would you like to see my bugs?"  
"Thank you, Derrial, I would enjoy that later."  
Simon emerged from the crew quarters at the back of the cargo bay, followed by a very large young man in scrubs.  
"Inara, you look incandescent as always. May I present David Chen, my case manager and nurse for the travelling clinics?"  
The Companion gave her hand to the handsome youngster who kissed it with Core elegance.  
Inara kissed Simon's cheek. "Nurse and case manager?" she whispered.  
"Fully qualified."  
"In all respects, I assume." and louder" Where is River?"  
"I was here, but Serenity needed me for a moment. She's happy to have you back among us" came over the intercom.  
Jayne drove into the cargo bay on the mule, filled with containers.  
"Give me a hand with these, Davie? " He swung out of the vehicle and marched over to Inara. "Right glad to see you . You look healthy enough, right now. Sure the trip to Heart of Gold won't tire you?"  
"I'll be fine, Jayne. And the girls at Heart of Gold wanted to say goodbye to me too."  
"Simon's got four clinics set up in the town. Mostly kid's immunizations and some prenatal workups. Mrs. Burgess isn't cooperating, but she's an easier landlord than her bastard husband." Mal said. "But come into the galley for tea. We all have a lot to catch up."

Derry was showing Inara his collection of bugs from the planets and moons Serenity had visited. He explained that it was very important that the insects be dead before they could be taken off their home world. "Otherwise they turn into rabbits or zebra mussels. And I only want bugs."  
Hope corrected him,"No, they won't change into something else, Derry. On Earth-that-was, people brought animals and plants to places where they had no natural controls and they became terrible problems. We don't want that to happen in the ' Verse. But they stayed the same things they had been in their real homes. "  
Inara smiled at the older child. Her blonde dreads were her heritage from her father, but her big brown eyes and her calm grace were all Zoe.  
"Who taught you to collect properly, Derry?"  
"Simon taught him. He teaches us science. Biology and anatomy and I learn chemistry. Derry just likes to make smells in chemistry. I'll write my Federal Twelve exam next year, I think. Simon says I should be able to pass even though I'll only be ten. "  
"Mummy teaches me about engine repair and River shows us how to dance and do gymnastics." Derry demonstrated with a cartwheel. Hope followed with her own, hands free, backflip.  
Hope added," Jayne teaches us bodybuilding. He says it is too easy to lose muscle tone in the black, so we have to work out with him every day. And River teaches Derry 'rithmetic and me mathematics. And Jayne taught us guitar and how to read music. He can't sing though."  
"And the Captain taught us to read. I'm reading this." Derry showed Inara his bookpad and called up "Have Spacesuit, Will Travel". The title page noted that the classic story had been modernized for young readers.  
Inara looked over at Mal, a little surprised.  
"I've done some reading in my time. Hope is working through Shakespeare, Austen and Pratchett, mostly in modern translations, as well as Freidhoff, Shen Mak and the Bairgorren Cycle. And we follow the Federal curriculum. Derry looks to be ready for his Federal Eight exams on schedule and Hope is ahead of most kids her age. She flew through her Eight."  
"Will you send them to a planet side school for their Federal Sixteen prep?"  
"No." said Simon and River in unison.  
"Of course. I apologize for even thinking that."  
"We'll consider settling for a while when the kids are older. Schoolin' them at home is fine, but they should meet more kids and get socializin' with different adults with different opinions." said Zoe. "My family settled on Persephone when my eldest brother got his Federal Twelve so as to study with a proper teacher for his Sixteen."  
"Did he do well in his exams?"  
"Signed up before he wrote them. Killed at Sturges. "  
"I'm sorry. And I apologize again for causing you pain."  
"Near twenty years ago now. Still think of him sometimes. Plato. The family I used to have is scattered through the 'verse. My family is here."  
"With Hope."  
"And others."  
Inara smiled at the crew gathered in the galley. "I know I feel more like a family member here even than in the Companion House. Some of my happiest days were travelling with you all."  
"Considerin' we was mostly gettin' shot at, tortured, chased by crazies and Feds both," grumbled Jayne, "You have some right unusual ideas about happy."  
"不是前面的儿童 " barked Zoe.  
"妈妈，亲爱的，我们不说中国话，你知道的。" laughed Hope.  
"And I can read Chinese too, " Derry exclaimed, noticing that the beautiful lady was not paying much attention to his bug collection any more. He was rewarded by a kiss from her red red lips.  
"Still got a thing for the Reynolds men, then, 'Nara," said Jayne, winning glares from Mal and Kaylee.  
"Still the epitome of tact and charm, Jayne," replied Inara.  
"Bed time, Derry," said Kaylee. "Do you want me or the Captain to read to you?"  
"Captain, please, mummy. We're at the part where there is a swordfight and says he is left handed".  
"The Princess Bride? You are teaching the classics, Mal!"  
"Good stories, good morals. And the good guys always win."  
"Start 'em off with lies and let 'em learn diff'rent later," grunted Jayne.  
"Which is why you're teaching phys ed and not civics, Jayne."

Heart of Gold had changed over the decade. The town had grown out towards the brothel and the brothel itself had become something ... else.  
"Mother Serra," explained Petaline," We can't grow if all we offer is sex. We always had the bar, of course, and our garden was very important when we operated under Burgess' eye. Sometimes that was what fed us when the shopkeepers were afraid to sell to us. So we expanded into a small restaurant and added the gambling and the vid theatre.  
"You wouldn't think that vids would attract anyone, since people can see them at home, but with so many isolated farms and ranches, our vid theatre is right busy on Saturday with new shows, whole families come out and see a show and have dinner before they go back home.  
"Actually, I'm thinking that we should open a hotel, separate from the Heart of Gold, maybe with a swimming pool for the kids."  
"Gambling, booze and sex for the adults; vids, food and swimmin' for the family. Sounds like an interestin' business plan," remarked Mal.  
"How does the widow Burgess feel about your expansion plans?" asked Inara.  
"Believe it or not, she is talking about investment."  
"Will you accept her money?"  
"四 地狱 , no! I wouldn't trust her to touch anything that's mine. We'll do it ourselves with our savings. We've done well here, especially since the town has been allowed to prosper. I'll give the stringy bitch that, she understands better than that 厌恶女人的污物 that real prosperity comes when the money is spread around. "  
"And which of the kids is your Joshua?"  
"That's him, the tall blond one talking to your little guy. Another reason I'm not letting Mrs. Burgess too close. He looks like his daddy, gorammit. Don't need her being reminded why she's a widow."  
"Praps she likes it. Gives a woman more scope, mebbehaps."  
"Kaylee! And you a respectable wife and mother yourself!" laughed Inara.  
Kaylee reached out for Mal's hand. "Not every respectable woman has a good husband. Even back home there were some women whose lives improved somethin' fierce when their men kicked. Sometimes the coroner was very careful not to ask about the box of rat poison in the pantry."  
Putting a nervous quaver into his voice, Mal asked, "Who's cookin' dinner tonight?"

"Well, you will be my guests at the restaurant, of course, " Petaline assured him. "How many are you now?"  
"We three. Then Zoe and her daughter. We lost Wash after Miranda and Book before. Simon and his David, they should be finished with the staff physicals. River probably, and our boy Derry. I think Jayne is already here...?"  
"Yes, but so is Helen. I think he has decided to do some catching up with her. She seemed very pleased that he remembered her."  
"Don't underestimate Jayne." said Mal," I've seen him welcomed back to some of the lowest dives and whorehouses that I have ever been terrified to visit. Some pretty rough women, and he treats 'em all as if they were princesses. Naked princesses."  
"I think the old song goes 'His lust is so sincere.'" laughed Inara.  
"And there's you allowing a little humanity to Jayne, " jibed Mal. "The world is spinning too fast for me."  
"Helen has been a mainstay to this operation since I took over. We still had some fights on our hands after you left, and she was our police force. Not just what she learned from Jayne, she grew up with brothers."  
"But those days are over?"  
"Over. Joshua and the other kids go to school in town. Rarely any problems. Sometimes I have to speak to the fathers. Sometimes I have to mention to the fathers that I may have to explain a few things to their wives. I keep careful records... for tax purposes, of course."  
"Petaline, in another ten years you are going to own this world.' said Inara.  
"Mebbe. If I decide I want it."

The brothel didn't close for the reunion, but after dinner in a private room at the restaurant, all the older staff, those who had known Nandi, took time to visit between customers. One of the boys was flirting quite openly with David, and Simon was getting almost visibly upset.  
"Meringue, ge ge," whispered River," It's fun to eat, but boiled eggs are for life."  
"Somehow, I find it less than reassuring to be called a boiled egg. Could you at least have gone for devilled eggs?"  
"Don't like those, too fussy," Jayne interjected, " Pickled eggs go good with beer though."  
"And scrambled eggs on toast," added Helen from her perch on his lap." Fortifying."  
Inara started giggling until she was gasping. "Oh, I have missed all of you."

_Inara would have many real friends and even more admirers among her clientele. Her fatal illness is canon, so a last voyage around the 'Verse while she was still well enough to visit seemed reasonable and it allows us to see how a family changes._  
_The school curriculum is based on the International Baccalaureate Program, followed by schools in most countries of the world where there are large diplomatic and expatriate populations. A 'bacca' is recognized by most upper tier universities, no matter what backwater country it was earned in. Again, where there are such distances between worlds, it would be useful for the Alliance to set up an examination system to confirm the accomplishments of students who would be learning in vastly different ways. There is something of the British "Eleven Plus" examinations in there too._


	16. Chapter 16 - Water Lilies

CHAPTER SIXTEEN  
WATER LILIES  
"Jayne went off with Miss Helen" reported Derry, yawning."He said they were goin to bed. But it's awful early and I'm not even tired yet!"  
"Well, it's still getting on to your bedtime." The Captain told him. "You can stay up for another half hour, that's all."  
Kaylee gave her husband a Look. "You know he'll be out in five. You can carry him back to his bunk."  
"I'm just bein grateful Jayne was polite enough to say they were off to bed, and not something more colourful."

Jayne and Helen were finding local colour back at the Heart of Gold.  
"Whoo-ee, girl. You look real fine."  
"Why thank you, sir. You're a fine sight yourself."  
"I keep myself up. Gotta in my line of work. Look weak and you're not just out a livin you're out a life."  
Helen ran practiced hands over the big man's muscled torso. Even though most of her clients were hardworking men, Jayne was an exceptional male. Her opinion may have been professional, but it was still appreciative. Helen liked men. Big men. Brawny men. She had enough brains for two, so smart was never a necessity.  
"It's been a while since you were back here."  
"Goin on five years, I reckon. Still good to find old friends workin here."  
"I don't work this side too much any more. Mostly old friends like you. If you're willin to call us that."  
Jayne pulled her closer and nuzzled her golden hair. "Friends is good. Sexin is even better. I've been on that ruttin boat with hardly no shore leave for goin on six months."  
"Wanna see our new service? Petaline put in a hot tub, private room, too. "  
"I was thinkin…"  
"C'mon, honey. Somethin special?"  
"How much?"  
Helen put a laugh in her voice, "The Old Friends rate is nuthin. Part of the overnight package."  
Helen led Jayne, who was already naked, across the hall from her room, where a bedroom had been converted to a spa, featuring a large scarlet hot tub, steaming and bubbling, as well as a small sauna, and a very large soaker tub. The room smelled of cut cedar and sweet herbal oils.  
"Help me get undressed, Jayne honey?"  
Jayne reached for the lacing on Helen's black corset which pinched in her waist and pushed up her ample bosom.  
"It's easier than that," she said, moving his hand to her back. A fast pull opened the Velcro fastening, spilling her blue silk dress loosely around her majestic figure. Another pull opened the bodice, allowing the entire dress to be removed almost magically. Helen knew her current older clientele needed to get down to business while still capable. Romance, or even a slow striptease, was not helpful for that.  
She was pleased that Jayne didn't seem to need any extra encouragement. She had, of course, some encouragements easily available, as a professional courtesy, but even at fifty, Jayne was in fine form. Very very fine form.  
His firm cock pressed against her buttocks and waist as she led him to the tub. It was nice, she thought, to have a man who obviously appreciated what an older woman had to offer and was willing to treat her with warmth and respect. Some of her customers lately… but Helen preferred to live in the moment and was smiling genuinely as she slipped into the blood hot water.  
Jayne turned her so her breasts, riding high as a teenager's in the water, pressed against his furry chest. He kissed her hair and her face, but respected the old code that a whore didn't kiss on the lips. His hands, large and callused, stroked her curves. Down her back and ass, over her hips and round stomach. He pulled her up so he could reach her breasts with his mouth, sucking on one, while he ran his thumbs around the pink nipple of the other.  
"Gorram, girl, you are the hottest thing I've ever seen!" His blue eyes gazed candidly into her own. She grasped his buttocks and pulled him closer to her, rubbing her soft belly against his hard cock, allowing the warm water to support his solid weight. With each movement, his cock pushed against her clit and moved closer to her opening. Helen was pleased that his happy appreciation was affecting her own reactions and that penetration was going to be slick and easy. Some of her customers didn't seem to care if she was ready for them. If she knew the customer was that sort, she had some extra-lubed condoms handy to make rutting easier for her. The condom slowed down the client some too, which was an unmentioned bonus for the men who were a little faster on the trigger than they used to be.  
But Jayne didn't seem to have any problems of that sort. She stretched her hand to the little box placed strategically on the edge of the tub and added some sweet lavender and mint salts to the steaming water. Then she slipped a sheath over Jayne's hard cock and shifted to put his tip into her. Jayne pushed and groaned with pleasure as he entered her. Helen might not have been a tight fit, but she was smart enough to do her Kegels regularly and she was still plenty flexible. She slid up, pushing her foot against the bottom of the tub and then relaxing to move down his shaft again and again. She remembered Jayne's preferences well enough to know that he liked his sex simple and as often as possible, so she didn't try to wear him out. Besides, while Helen really liked men and having sex with men, she also appreciated a man who appreciated her. And Jayne was appreciative. He enjoyed watching her orgasm as well as his own and had never criticized either her body or her performance.  
Jayne launched himself forward so Helen ended up below him and he could control his thrusts instead of her. His vigorous movements bumped his pubic bone against her clit making her shudder with pleasure. He buried his face in her blonde hair and sucked at her neck, marking her nape with his mouth. She could feel him filling her and tightened herself around his cock making him gasp. "Tamade, little girl, you know how to make a man …uuhh."  
But even coming did not stop his thrusts, and Helen could feel her own tightening and cried out as she came. Shaking and trying not to slide underwater, Helen wrapped her arms around his back and pulled him close, kissing his chest and collarbone.  
"Thank you," she murmured.  
"That was good, weren't it? Let's get out of this thing before one of us drowns."  
"Give me a minute, kay? Promise I won't drown on ya."  
Jayne was quite willing to cuddle the big blonde. He would never admit to a fondness for close contact, especially with compliant women.  
"Would you like a Roman massage?" asked Helen.  
"That part of the Old Friends package, too?"  
"Could be. It's something I've been working on. Lotta folks come in tense and massage is just the thing they need. If'n I could, I'd take proper classes and get a cert, but there's nowhere round here for that. C'mon. You'll like it."  
Jayne stretched out on the high bed in the spa room. Helen started by rubbing him all over with olive oil, scented by rosemary, mint and lavender. She didn't bother to tell him that she had invented the Roman massage as a method of getting some of her funkier customers cleaned up, before bedding them. The ancient Romans on Earth-that-was didn't have soap, and used olive oil to loosen dirt and sweat before their famous baths. Like them, Helen had a strigil, a wooden instrument she used to scrape the oil from her client' s skin leaving them clean and smelling a little like a salad. Often that was a great improvement, especially as older whores like Helen attracted men who were looking for cheap sex instead of paying more for the younger prettier women.  
"Wanna happy ending, honey?'  
"Hell, yeah.' She moved from rubbing over his limbs and torso to taking a firm grip on his cock, pleased that he was already hard and erect for her. Grasping him at his root, she ran her tongue over his slit, then took his cock in her mouth. He grunted as she deep throated him, massaging his erection with her experienced tongue. With her other hand she cupped his balls, pressing her breasts against his thigh. Jayne groaned as she worked him. When Helen recognized that he was on the edge, she slowed until that urgency passed, then pushed him back to the edge, again and again. Finally, he cried out, "Please girl ya gotta...!" and she pushed his throbbing cock between her breasts while his orgasm shook him.  
Jayne lay back on the narrow massage bed, not breathing and scarlet. Helen slapped him across the chest and then again on his cheek. His hand shot out and grabbed hers before she could strike again. Helen laughed. "Good, you're breathing. Had a guy die on me last month after that. Don't know if it was happy, certainly was an ending."  
Jayne's stunned look slowly gave way to a deep chortle. " You这样的母狗! Were you trying to kill me?"  
"Nah. I figgered you were up for it. Bet you do a lot of cardio."  
"神圣的狗屎. What did you do about the deader?"  
"Told his wife that he died in the bath house. Pretty close to the truth."  
"And she went for it?" "Some women are very happy widows."  
_I haven't quite figured out what Helen was doing to Jayne with her feet in Heart of Gold. The girl obviously has skills. I thought it interesting to bring two professionals, both of whom should be considering retirement, together again. Jayne's 50, Helen in her late 30s. In their jobs, that is old. I have a plan for them, but I'm not sure yet how to work it in here._


	17. Chapter 17 -Irises

CHAPTER SEVENTEEN  
IRISES

"DERIALL REYNOLDS! Do NOT throw stones at the koi!" the Companion shouted and clapped her hand over her mouth at her loss of control.  
"Shall I go speak to him, 阿姨 ?", asked the slim preteen embroidering beside her.  
"Yes, please, Hope. That 顽皮的孩子 can make trouble faster than anyone else I have ever met, and with the new baby I am running out of hands and patience."  
"Takes after his father, Mummy says." Hope Washburne rose gracefully and glided over to the little boy. "Don't tease the fish. It gets them all excited."  
"I wasn't aiming at them. I was just trying to make them interested."  
"Mummy says they don't like interesting. Interesting usually means they are going to die."

Quiet voices were heard approaching the walled garden. A small group of men and women, most wearing white mourning, entered. Zoe Washburne embraced her daughter while Malcolm Reynolds, clad in black, went to see what his boy was up to… this time.  
"The ceremony went well, I assume," the Companion said. "The baby was fussy so I gave her a bottle and she fell asleep. She's been changed." She passed the tiny child over to her mother.  
Kaylee kissed the baby's fine red hair and thanked the young Companion. "It was sad, but she ain't in pain anymore. It was an awful long illness."  
"嬷 Serra was my teacher in first year," said the Companion. "I was very homesick, but she was so kind…." Tears welled up in the eyes of the girl and Kaylee's eyes filled too, still raw from losing a dear friend. She embraced the girl.  
"Thanks for watching the kids durin' the interment. They're too young to handle so much."  
"Not Hope. She is very mature for ten. I enjoyed my time with her," the Companion paused."She seems to like being here too. Do you think her mother would consider her attending our school and perhaps following a career with us?"  
"I wouldn't suggest that to Zoe. She'll keep her girl as close to her as she can for as long as she can." smiled Kaylee. "And Zoe is a very determined person"  
They were joined by the other members of the mourning party. Simon Tam, his sister, River and the large 危险的人, who was blatantly leering at the young Companion.  
"Well, I must return to….my… my studies." The young girl murmured. "该死" she thought " I am so glad Mother Serra did not see me this morning. Losing my temper with a child and then being flustered by a man. Self-control is much harder in real life than in the classroom."

Mal, with a firm hand on his son's shoulder, approached Simon. "Where is the next clinic you'll be doin? Have you given River the coordinates?"  
"The plan is to visit Harvest, first, to show Kaylee's family the new baby. Kaylee wants to talk to you about that. We have three clinics set up there so far, maybe more if I get the damplung vaccine from the Ariel Central Medical Stores."  
"Kinda dry there for the damplung, ain't it?"  
"There's been a lot of immigration lately. Brought the disease along. It might just die out on its own, but the vaccine will make it die out faster."  
"Shiny. Well, in-laws… but, shiny. The Flying Doctor saves the day again."  
"And we get paid. And not shot at."  
"Win, win then. Except for the in-laws part. Not sure I can take much of Daddy Kaye glaring at me for seducing his baby girl."  
"What's seduce, Captain?" asked Derrial.  
"Shut up." His father explained."Go play with Hope"  
"She's bossy."  
"So's her mother. And yours. And Aunt River. Get used to being bossed by women. That's helpful fatherly advice just special for you. Git."

CHAPTER SIXTEEN  
CHRYSANTHEMUMS

"I wish the girl hadn't fed the baby. I'm so full right now and she doesn't want to nurse." Kaylee put the baby in the bassinet in the Captain's bunk. "Guess I should pump. Ugh."  
Mal kissed the top of her head. "Have a lie down first. You've been runnin' since early early. You look tuckered."  
"I'm a mess. Too tired to do anything but feed the baby, Was I like this with Derry?"  
"Yep. And he was more fussy. Still runnin' us ragged too. I think then was the first time I ever saw you less than cheerful. 'Ceptin' times when folks was shootin' at you, course."  
"So glad that Simon come up with the clinics. That gives us good reason to visit places and keeps the bottom line covered too. Makes the crime more economic and fewer bullets."  
"Aw, mei-mei, smuggling ain't zactly crime. Just avoidin' nosy oversight, 'sall"  
"An' that's why we always seem to set down in somebody's back forty, well away from the Customs posts, late at night…" she snorted as Mal started to tickle her.  
"Well, we have ourselves a new Ambassador in Simon anyways. " Mal laughed and paused.  
"We didn't really have Nara as Ambassador for long after Miranda, Mal. By then the illness had really taken hold and when that bastard … retirement to the Mother House was really the best option."  
Mal hugged his wife a little tighter and Kaylee gasped. "Ooh- too tender. Not so tight."  
"Sorry darlin'. … still a week to go, eh?"  
"Simon says 'It would be prudent'. "  
"Not sure that he isn't just tryin' to keep us apart. Discarded sweetheart an' all."  
"Oh, c'mon Mal. He took long enough, and then his idea of lettin' me down gentle was to tell me he was sly. And now he has a man in every port, it seems."  
"Yeah, he got over that proper stuff once he accepted who he was and who he wanted to be."  
"Still." murmured Kaylee. "Another week."  
"Want that lie-down now?"  
"Yeah. Help me with this gown? "  
Kaylee rested her head on Mal's broad shoulder as he unlaced the back of the white dress. She pulled it off and Mal hung it in the closet. When he turned back to the bed, Kaylee had also removed her bra and was massaging her swollen breasts.  
"You are the prettiest woman I've seen all day."  
"Oh you liar! A Companion House full of some of the most beautiful women in the 'Verse and you come out with that gui fen."  
"None of them have a smile like yours. None of them has eyes like yours. None of them has breasts like yours. None…"  
She batted at him…"I'm too tired for your sweet talk. And my breasts are all swollen and veiny blue."  
Mal kissed her breasts softly." You are exquisite. Sweet." He kissed her nipples. And started a little when his mouth filled with her milk. Then he smiled . "I know how we can relieve the pressure without the pump or waking the baby. "  
He nuzzled into her latching on to her nipple and sucking greedily. Kaylee sighed as her milk came down and she felt the familiar warm tingle that nursing her babies gave her. Mal sucked on her breast, stroking her back , sliding his hand under her ass, cupping the other breast.  
Kaylee was a little breathless. "You uh you better do both or I'll be lopsided, " she gasped.  
"Can't have you less than perfect, can I?" And he switched to her other side, nuzzling into her bosom. His hands moved from her ass to her stomach, still loose from childbirth, and Kaylee, suddenly shy, pushed his hand away. He murmured a little and moved his hand down to her thigh and then up again to her clit.  
The touch of his fingers made her gasp. He knew exactly what unmade her. The pressure of his palm moving against her mound, then gently pinching the tiny clit between his fingers made her body tense more and more. Still suckling on her breast, he moved a finger into her, then another.  
She cried out and he stopped. "I'm not hurting you am I?" he asked, worried.  
"Oh no. That just feels so good. It's been weeks since I had you in me and I really need you. "  
He kissed her and she tasted her own sweet milk on his tongue. " We can't. Doctor's orders. Next week. Next Saturday. She'll be six weeks on Saturday. And mummy and daddy will have a private birthday party."  
"And face to face," laughed Kaylee. "That last month of spoony fucking was nice enough, but I do like kissin' you. "  
He grinned and kissed her again. Their tongues licked tenderly and they tasted of milk.  
"If you were any more horny before the baby arrived, she would have been born with a dent on her forehead."  
"What can I say? Maybe I'm just a little slutty?"  
"I am the luckiest man in the 'verse. My woman gives me babies and some of the best lovin' known to man." He paused . "River is right. Simon is a boob. He could have had you and yet he let you go. I am the luckiest man in the 'Verse"  
"Aww, you know I've always loved my Captain. Simon was just a crush. I'd never met anyone quite like him and he was interestin'. And cute. Real shwae."  
"And if he hadn't let you go, I wouldn't have had to wipe your tears and kiss it better." And he kissed her better again.  
Kaylee laughed. "And you were moonin' over Inara at the time anyways. "  
Mal sighed. "She was a vision, wasn't she? Like you say, interestin'. Taught me a lot about women. "  
"Yeah, me too."  
Mal started.  
"What ? You thought it was all hairdressing and talking about clothes? She taught me a lot about how to please a man. And what pleased me, come to that. No more wham bam thank you ma'm, after a few lessons from Inara!"  
"You slept with Inara?"  
"Not a wink. Why waste time? "  
"Huh."  
"She was a teacher at the heart. All that trainin', for a job she really didn't like. Poor woman. Her students loved her, but we were the closest family at her funeral. Her own folks didn't come. And you were the only one who felt close enough to wear black."  
"Well, I loved her. Not the way I love you. Different. But real enough."  
"And it's shiny. We both got the benefit of knowin' and lovin' her. Kiss me again?'  
'Where?'  
'Choose."  
Mal 's mouth fastened over her clit, suckling as hard as he had nursed on her breasts. Kaylee moaned as the tension in her mounted and released.  
He moved back up to nestle her head on his shoulder. He loved how she would relax so completely after orgasm.  
"Mei-mei?"  
"Mmph?"  
"Maybe we could name the baby Inara?"  
"No." said his wife.

_Apparently some think this fits into a 'kink' category. None of those readers have put up with the discomfort when the baby does not want to nurse. And pumping is annoying. So this is both practical and sexy as hell. Which is even more annoying in those first six weeks of recuperation from childbirth. _  
_And would you name a baby after a past lover? Especially one you shared with your spouse?_


	18. Chapter 18 - Chrysanthemums

CHAPTER EIGHTEEN  
CHRYSANTHEMUMS

"I wish the girl hadn't fed the baby. I'm so full right now and she doesn't want to nurse." Kaylee put the baby in the bassinet in the Captain's bunk. "Guess I should pump. Ugh."  
Mal kissed the top of her head. "Have a lie down first. You've been runnin' since early early. You look tuckered."  
"I'm a mess. Too tired to do anything but feed the baby, Was I like this with Derry?"  
"Yep. And he was more fussy. Still runnin' us ragged too. I think then was the first time I ever saw you less than cheerful. 'Ceptin' times when folks was shootin' at you, course."  
"So glad that Simon come up with the clinics. That gives us good reason to visit places and keeps the bottom line covered too. Makes the crime more economic and fewer bullets."  
"Aw, mei-mei, smuggling ain't zactly crime. Just avoidin' nosy oversight, 'sall"  
"An' that's why we always seem to set down in somebody's back forty, well away from the Customs posts, late at night…" she snorted as Mal started to tickle her.  
"Well, we have ourselves a new Ambassador in Simon anyways. " Mal laughed and paused.  
"We didn't really have Nara as Ambassador for long after Miranda, Mal. By then the illness had really taken hold and when that bastard … retirement to the Mother House was really the best option."  
Mal hugged his wife a little tighter and Kaylee gasped. "Ooh- too tender. Not so tight."  
"Sorry darlin'. … still a week to go, eh?"  
"Simon says 'It would be prudent'. "  
"Not sure that he isn't just tryin' to keep us apart. Discarded sweetheart an' all."  
"Oh, c'mon Mal. He took long enough, and then his idea of lettin' me down gentle was to tell me he was sly. And now he has a man in every port, it seems."  
"Yeah, he got over that proper stuff once he accepted who he was and who he wanted to be."  
"Still." murmured Kaylee. "Another week."  
"Want that lie-down now?"  
"Yeah. Help me with this gown? "  
Kaylee rested her head on Mal's broad shoulder as he unlaced the back of the white dress. She pulled it off and Mal hung it in the closet. When he turned back to the bed, Kaylee had also removed her bra and was massaging her swollen breasts.  
"You are the prettiest woman I've seen all day."  
"Oh you liar! A Companion House full of some of the most beautiful women in the 'Verse and you come out with that gui fen."  
"None of them have a smile like yours. None of them has eyes like yours. None of them has breasts like yours. None…"  
She batted at him…"I'm too tired for your sweet talk. And my breasts are all swollen and veiny blue."  
Mal kissed her breasts softly." You are exquisite. Sweet." He kissed her nipples. And started a little when his mouth filled with her milk. Then he smiled . "I know how we can relieve the pressure without the pump or waking the baby. "  
He nuzzled into her latching on to her nipple and sucking greedily. Kaylee sighed as her milk came down and she felt the familiar warm tingle that nursing her babies gave her. Mal sucked on her breast, stroking her back , sliding his hand under her ass, cupping the other breast.  
Kaylee was a little breathless. "You uh you better do both or I'll be lopsided, " she gasped.  
"Can't have you less than perfect, can I?" And he switched to her other side, nuzzling into her bosom. His hands moved from her ass to her stomach, still loose from childbirth, and Kaylee, suddenly shy, pushed his hand away. He murmured a little and moved his hand down to her thigh and then up again to her clit.  
The touch of his fingers made her gasp. He knew exactly what unmade her. The pressure of his palm moving against her mound, then gently pinching the tiny clit between his fingers made her body tense more and more. Still suckling on her breast, he moved a finger into her, then another.  
She cried out and he stopped. "I'm not hurting you am I?" he asked, worried.  
"Oh no. That just feels so good. It's been weeks since I had you in me and I really need you. "  
He kissed her and she tasted her own sweet milk on his tongue. " We can't. Doctor's orders. Next week. Next Saturday. She'll be six weeks on Saturday. And mummy and daddy will have a private birthday party."  
"And face to face," laughed Kaylee. "That last month of spoony fucking was nice enough, but I do like kissin' you. "  
He grinned and kissed her again. Their tongues licked tenderly and they tasted of milk.  
"If you were any more horny before the baby arrived, she would have been born with a dent on her forehead."  
"What can I say? Maybe I'm just a little slutty?"  
"I am the luckiest man in the 'verse. My woman gives me babies and some of the best lovin' known to man." He paused . "River is right. Simon is a boob. He could have had you and yet he let you go. I am the luckiest man in the 'Verse"  
"Aww, you know I've always loved my Captain. Simon was just a crush. I'd never met anyone quite like him and he was interestin'. And cute. Real shwae."  
"And if he hadn't let you go, I wouldn't have had to wipe your tears and kiss it better." And he kissed her better again.  
Kaylee laughed. "And you were moonin' over Inara at the time anyways. "  
Mal sighed. "She was a vision, wasn't she? Like you say, interestin'. Taught me a lot about women. "  
"Yeah, me too."  
Mal started.  
"What ? You thought it was all hairdressing and talking about clothes? She taught me a lot about how to please a man. And what pleased me, come to that. No more wham bam thank you ma'm, after a few lessons from Inara!"  
"You slept with Inara?"  
"Not a wink. Why waste time? "  
"Huh."  
"She was a teacher at the heart. All that trainin', for a job she really didn't like. Poor woman. Her students loved her, but we were the closest family at her funeral. Her own folks didn't come. And you were the only one who felt close enough to wear black."  
"Well, I loved her. Not the way I love you. Different. But real enough."  
"And it's shiny. We both got the benefit of knowin' and lovin' her. Kiss me again?'  
'Where?'  
'Choose."  
Mal 's mouth fastened over her clit, suckling as hard as he had nursed on her breasts. Kaylee moaned as the tension in her mounted and released.  
He moved back up to nestle her head on his shoulder. He loved how she would relax so completely after orgasm.  
"Mei-mei?"  
"Mmph?"  
"Maybe we could name the baby Inara?"  
"No." said his wife.

_Apparently some think this fits into a 'kink' category. None of those readers have put up with the discomfort when the baby does not want to nurse. And pumping is annoying. So this is both practical and sexy as hell. Which is even more annoying in those first six weeks of recuperation from childbirth. _  
_And would you name a baby after a past lover? Especially one you shared with your spouse?_


	19. Chapter 19 Family Time

CHAPTER 18

FAMILY TIME

Just a quiet evening in the Black.

Having filled the dishwasher, Kaylee leaned back against the kitchen counter and  
surveyed her family.

After dinner, Jayne had taken over part of the dining table to make bullets, while Zoe at  
the other end tried to make the books balance, a job that had become more important  
now that most of their cargoes were legal and their jobs were paid by bank transfers  
instead of cashy money. No one trusted Mal's erratic arithmetic to keep them out of the  
hands of the Alliance Revenue, not while suspicious eyes remembered their past.

It was Kaylee's turn on kitchen chores and the breadmaker was filled and working on  
a fresh loaf for morning, if it made it past River's ravenous appetite when it came out  
of the machine just as River's shift on the bridge ended. The tiny pilot burned through  
almost as many calories as Jayne, and never gained a kilo, Kaylee mused, thinking of  
her own waistline, which was being slow to get back to her pre-pregnancy state, even  
though the baby was eight months old.

Simon was working with Hope on Botany study for her Federal Twelve courses.  
Botany was one of the hardest courses for ship kids, since they so rarely saw growing  
plants either in the Black or in the urban docks they landed at. The basic plant groups became  
either "green" and "edible" for spacer families, and the importance of plant life to an  
ecosystem was hard even for Hope's quick mind to visualize. Simon was considering  
turning one of the passenger suites into a hydroponic plant, just to help Hope and later  
Derry and his little sister with the concepts. He was thinking that a garden would provide  
fresh foods, clean the air, and give the children an important set of chores for the benefit  
of the whole crew.

But six year old Derry was in boy heaven, curled up with his Captain in the lounge,  
reading aloud a vigorous tale of derring-do and adventure, set on Earth-that-was, with  
time travellers and dinosaurs. Derry considered this much more interesting than his  
own dull life, cooped up flying from world to world in a spaceship, trading (and, he was beginning  
to be aware, often smuggling) cargoes of spices, precious medicines, bobbleheads, rare earths,  
ironware and cheap tin trays.

The Captain was in daddy heaven. Mal appreciated cuddle time with his growing son,  
though neither would ever have called it that. Reading was as much an excuse to have  
the boy on his lap and leaning against his chest while they took turns, page by page,  
reading to each other from Derry's bookpad, as it was Mal's teaching chore. And if his  
lips brushed the boy's hair or cheek from time to time, there was nothing unmanly about  
that. Beside the Reynolds men on the chesterfield, the baby slept cozily swaddled in a  
blanket her godmother had knit.

Kaylee came over and picked her up, kissing the red blonde fuzz on her sweet smelling head, leaning against Mal's side. Just a quiet family evening in the Black.


	20. Chapter 20 -A NEW CONTACT

CHAPTER TWENTY  
A NEW CONTACT

The tall man strolled through the Eavesdown Dock, followed by admiring feminine glances.

As he approached a group of shabby transport ships, he glanced at a gossiping groupof women, sitting in folding lawn chairs and watching a gang of noisy youngsters playing a round game.

"Mei mei!" he called. "Zoe! Zoe Alleyne!"

The tall dark woman's ringlets swept around as she responded to the call. "Zoe Washburne" she corrected. Then "Perse!"

The tall man pulled his sister to her feet, hugging her leather vest to his own broad chest.

"How long has it been? "

"Near on twenty years since I joined up."

"And now ?"

"First mate on Serenity here, you?"

"Working for a big wholesaler, just promoted to manage my own franchise here on Persephone"

Zoe nodded. "Steady work."

"And are these ladies also part of your crew?"

"Kaylee is our mechanic, the others are with other ships, but we meet up from time totime to exchange news and let the kids play together. Kaylee, Lin, Sou-fen this is my older brother, Perseus Alleyne."

"Pleased to meet you all. I'm actually here to find some new contacts for hauling in and out-system. Good to find people with shared connections."

"Serenity is always looking for contracts." smiled the mechanic, switching her baby from one breast to the other. "Zoe, maybe you should introduce your brother to the Captain."

Zoe nodded, turned and headed up the cargo bay ramp of one of the ships.

Perse Alleyne made a small bow to the other women and followed.

"Well," said Sou-fen." Who woulda thought that Zoe would be the plain one in her family?" The other women started giggling lasciviously.

"Washburne, eh? Is your husband the Captain? "

"No. Mal Reynolds was my sergeant. I'm a widow."

"It has been a long time. Have you been in touch with any of the others over the years? I have Cortex addresses for most but we are far-flung nowadays. Are any of those kids yours? Lord, girl, you look good."

"The Captain bought Serenity partly through Alcibides. The others? No. The blonde girl is mine, Hope, she's eleven."

The merchant looked back at the rowdy children and spotted a slender, composed pre-teen with blonde dreads and a deep tan rescuing one of the smaller children from older rougher playmates.

"Another niece. I think that means Mum and Dad would have about 29 or 30 grandchildren now. You know they have both passed?"

"Figured Dad. 'Bout a dozen years ago, tried to contact him when I was discharged, but got a "No account" message. Mum was alive then, but Al didn't give me her address."

"Al's not good at keeping up. He may not have had one. She kept the ship going for another ten years after, then retired. Died about six years back, mostly of boredom, I think."

"Sir, this is my brother, Perseus Alleyne"

"Brother? Welcome to Serenity, Perseus."

"Perse, please, Captain Reynolds. I understand you are looking for contracts."

"Always looking for jobs. Got a crew and some pesky kids to feed. Zoe tell you about our setup? We're based here but we make a regular circuit of worlds because we have a permanent passenger who does medical clinics on worlds too small to support a regular doctor. Makes us steady but still flexible in our scheduling. Means that we can afford to do small jobs that are on our route at a reasonable price. "

"A doctor? That's unusual."

"The government pays him to run the clinics with his nurse. He has a route, but he is allowed to stop at other worlds as the opportunity or need arises. Useful sometimes when we want a reason to be somewhere."

Perse grinned. "Sounds like your business is very much like the Alleyne Family Concern. Flexible. "

"It's good to have a respectable reason to go dirtside sometime. Not always a good idea to land in the middle of nowhere. Sometimes the Feds notice, sometimes you're meeting up with people whose idea of doing business is too flexible. Doc lets us land at the local shipyard and have a reason for being there."

A small boy with a mop of light brown hair, raced up the ramp and hugged the Captain's leg.

"Captain! Mummy says I can have an ice planet if you give me the money. And for Hope too."

Mal picked up the boy and kissed him, gave him an aluminum coin, and swatted him on his bum.

"Grownups are talking business, Derry. Git."

"Kids travel with you on jobs?"

"Just the baby 'cause she's nursing. The other two stay on Persephone now when we are away. Their school has a scheme for the ship families. Kids can take classes through the Cortex when they are out in the Black, or board at the school if the trip might be dangerous, or stay shipboard with their parents when they are on Persephone."

"So my niece mostly lives here?"

"On the ship or in the school dorm." Her mother said.

"Well, well. I'm glad I found you. The family will be happy to hear too. Can I invite you and the crew to have dinner with me? Being new, I don't have much of a social circle and it would be good to talk."

"Sir?"

"The crew is seven adults and two kids. Plus the baby. If you can handle that…?"

"The job comes with a house and a housekeeper. Tomorrow evening? About 1830? And perhaps I will have some work for you by then."

"Must be real shiny for you, meeting a long-lost brother after so long." Kaylee smiled. "You two will have so many stories to share."

"Mmm. Not my favourite brother."

"He's really handsome, too. Do you have any captures of your family? How many kids were there? Mal says you started him in this business when the two of you were demobbed."

"There was nothing for him on Shadow. I knew my family business so we went that way."

"Mal never told me that! I guess I never thought of him as anything but a ship's captain. Was the crime your idea too? "

"My dad never liked going through customs posts much. I reckon most small transports do some smuggling. Our ship had even more hidey-holes than a Firefly. "she chuckled. "We lost Theseus for a couple of days once when he got wedged into a duct."

_Families again. Zoe has two brothers who are not her favourites. And although Perse appears to be a bachelor, the other siblings have produced some 30 offspring. _  
_Family is one way of knowing who you can trust when the job might be a little shady._


	21. Chapter 21 - Pansies for Zoe

CHAPTER TWENTY ONE  
PANSIES FOR ZOE

Perse was all charm with the crew. Kaylee was already entranced by his good looks, Simon by his fine Core manners. He and David kept exchanging glances, as if they were making some plan for the handsome bachelor. Hope and Derry were on their best behaviour, as was Jayne, who managed not to make any crude remarks by the simple expedient of not talking at all. Fortunately, there was plenty of food to keep his mouth busy.

River was mostly silent. The young pilot was a bit restless. She was more and more focussed now that she had a steady family around her and a responsible job. But she seemed slightly upset, in spite of the good food and pleasant chat.

Mal was expansive, pleased to have found a new contact who needed a trustworthy shipper. He and Perse spent much time discussing the plans of Perse' company to expand in the Rim.

"They like me because I'm from the Rim, and know more about the culture out here than their Core-bred employees. They understand that rules can be more like guidelines here. And they see a strong future as the Rim worlds develop and get more prosperous. A strong middle class is what these worlds need, not just rich owners and poor workers."

"What kind of cargo do they need moved?" asked Mal.

"Well, at the moment, we have a cargo of frozen bull semen for the ranchers on Whitefall, Burgess and Beaumonde. Needs a little TLC, but doesn't take up much space for the value. Taxes on it are high though."

Mal ignored Jayne's guffaw. "Better than an entire herd of beeves. We've done that and it took a month to get the stink out of the cargo bay. Jayne, 要小心"

"爸爸，我们说中国" Derry pointed out.

"There's a couple of worlds where the crops were too good, and they have surplus fruit for sale. Shipping on a big transport would be expensive, price the fruit right out of the market." continued Perse. "Or I've got some glass. Not fancy stuff, but jars and the like for canning plants on some of the agricultural worlds. Bulky and pretty cheap, so the shipping gets to be the expensive part."

"We could handle most of those cargoes. One thing, we don't want to deal with slave planets. Those folks have strange ideas about what a contract means. And they don't just shoot you if you disagree. You can end up working out your days for some卫生 说话 with a whip. "  
"Understood. "  
"They don't look for clinics either," Simon added."Their people are just worked until they die."  
"Doctor Tam, what sort of services do you offer at these clinics of yours?"

"Not what I was trained to do, which was trauma surgery. But we handle general family care, prenatal care, Davie gives vaccinations, we do a lot of immunizations and he has a gentle hand with a needle." Simon stroked the big nurse' arm. "Give kids their annual exams and actually I do some cosmetic surgery."

"Cosmetic? Like nose jobs and tummy tucks?"

"Well, I correct for deviated septums and poorly set broken noses. But what we do a lot of comes from burns. Some Rim planets use stoves for heating and there are a lot of burns from careless handling and even house fires."

"Hydraulic ram pumps!" exclaimed Perse, "Those Rim worlds need small scale hydro plants and ram pumps are perfect for the homestead user. I'll have to look into getting some in from Boros. Electricity is much safer and cheaper than burning pellets or candles."

"Earth-that-was had petroleum, and they used it for everything. " Hope interjected."They could break it down and turn it into stuff they could mould , like glass or ceramic jars, and the like. But they also used it for fuel, just burning it up. They had a rock that burned too, coal. We don't have those in the 'Verse because the worlds here didn't have any life until we terraformed them and petroleum and coal were made from the dead jungles and huge animals that lived there billions of years ago. "

Perse gave his newly met niece a bemused look. "Huge animals?"

"My daddy had a lot of models of them. They were called dinosaurs."

"Interesting. You should show me more about them, Hope. And Doctor Tam, let me know what worlds are overly dependent on burning solid fuels. I may have a line on some ram pumps that would be in great demand there. "

_Perse is looking for people he can trust. Who better than family?_


	22. Chapter 22- Good Medicine

CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO  
GOOD MEDICINE

Perse was as good as his word and the next day the crew had a contract to fly a load of agricultural implements, hoes and shovels mostly, to Kerry for a homesteading ship that was heading out to a newly opened Rim World. The strictly legal cargo was supplemented by a few dozen sealed steel boxes stowed in the hidden compartment off the cargo bay. A secret cargo of high-yield grainseeds and protein packs, and genetically-enhanced grass seed and oxygen-producing single-cell organisms in stasis. Highly-prized Alliance materials, a black market cash-cow and automatic jail-time for possession.

David came aboard with a crate of vaccines, picked up from the Alliance Central Medical Depot, which Simon would be using on their next stop, a scheduled clinic on Higgins' Moon. Simon had been on the Cortex for a few hours conferring with the local midwife on a maternity case whose eclampsia would make a caesarian delivery necessary when Simon arrived.

"Then we pick up a shipment of dry beans and of that syrup they make from trees on Harvest, and back to Persephone," Mal informed the crew.  
"Syrup from trees?" asked Hope.  
"Maple or mebbee birch," Jayne put in."Good on porridge or on pancakes. We made it back home. Takes a powerful lot of sap and very particular weather."  
"Luxury trade stuff. Compact for the value. The beans cover our costs for the run back here. Syrup is our profit. Doesn't even have to be in the hidey-hole. Purely legal."

"So we can take the kids, no problem?" asked Kaylee." Perse offered to keep the kids for a visit if we wanted."

"Nothin' wrong with the school dorm," said Zoe. "The kids have friends and we know all the staff."

"Yeah, Nice of him to offer, but what fun can little kids have with an old bachelor?" said Mal. "Let's stick to the plan. The whole family travels this run. Mebbee another time they can spend some time with Uncle Perse."

The jobs went smooth. Perse' company was known to the Alliance authorities, even if one or two of the customs agents gave Serenity the fish-eye, having investigated other, more problematic, cargoes. Mal took delight in being the "by the book" captain, providing his strictly legal by the book paperwork. The hidey-hole with its "special" crates went unobserved.

At Higgins' Moon, Simon deliver the endangered baby at the midwife's clinic. Once the baby was safe, treatment for the mother's eclampsia could be left in the capable hands of the local nurse-midwife. Davie cornered her for a few hours when he and Simon stayed over and got more background on her training.

"David feels we could offer a better service for normal pregnancies and births if he added midwifery to his own nursing and my surgical skills," Simon told Kaylee. "You didn't need me for your kids and let's face it, I'm not really the most empathetic person for a worried prima partum."

"Calling someone a prima partum proves that, Si," laughed Kaylee. "You was fine with Zoe and me, but Davie is more of a people person. You picked a good man there."

"Your opinion is very valuable to me, Kaylee."

Kaylee hugged Simon and kissed him soundly. "Your opinion is valuable to me too."  
Mal entered the kitchen at that moment with Davie and Zoe in tow.  
"Hey! That's my wife you're fondlin'!"  
"And my husband!" added Davie.  
"Husband! When did that happen?" cried Kaylee, hugging Simon enthusiastically.  
"Fiance, actually. Harvest is David's family home and we hoped to go there on our next voyage to be married in the same church where he was baptized and confirmed."  
"Aw, that's so romantic, ain't it, Mal?"  
"Congratulations to both of you. And again, if you would get your hands off my wife, I would appreciate it."  
"Actually, Mal, I wanted to talk to you about this. I'd be honoured if you would stand up for me as my witness. River would be the other of course. David's father and brother will be his witnesses."  
"Still waitin' for you to stop fondlin' my wife, you know," Mal laughed and hugged Simon himself. "I appreciate the askin' and I'd be happy to witness for you."

_Simon slowly loosened up as Firefly went on. During the BDM, in spite of his continued courtship of Kaylee, his true preferences were coming forward. But since there were no out gay characters in the canon, I had to introduce someone for him, because Simon needs someone to love him. His fierce love for his sister shows he has a capacity for passion. We've seen that same sex pairings are not scandalous, especially on the Rim. And for those who might doubt the church wedding, my own church, the United Church of Canada, our largest Protestant denomination, was performing religious weddings well before the Canadian government allowed civil same sex marriages._


	23. Chapter 23 - Everlastings

CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE EVERLASTINGS

"The job went well, " said Mal. "No problem. The special cargo was paid in cashy money. The rest was a bank transfer. We prefer cash payment ourselves, if at all possible. Got in the habit, eh?"  
"Not a problem although I will need a receipt for Head Office. Saw the bank transfer, so that's shiny. The real money, that's ours, not the bigwigs." Perse replied with a wink.  
"You'll find it's all there, as agreed. But if we can get paid, we got fuel cells to buy and school fees due."  
"I'm serious about the kids staying with me, if you want to avoid the dorm fees when you're out in the Black. It gets lonely in a new place and I would enjoy the company."  
"Perse," said his sister. "The kids love the dorms. They have friends there. Not that we don't thank you, but they don't get to meet other kids when we're in the Black and the school dorms are part of their education."  
"Of course, of course. Just a suggestion. So Mal, Where is your doctor off to next?"

Mal found watching the crew, the family, in their off time comforting.  
Jayne was running the kids through what he called boot camp, pushups and pullups and other exercises meant to increase their strength. Even though Serenity had a grav drive, Jayne held the opinion that the crew, children included, would lose muscle mass if they did not work out constantly. He had a long running argument with Mal, who adamantly refused Jayne's offer to spot him on the weights.  
"I'm just fine as I am" he declared while Jayne pointed out that he rarely wore his brown uniform coat anymore because it was too small. "And it ain't muscle, Mal. You're gettin' soft."  
Mal hated to admit to himself that as he approached 40, he was stouter and slower than when he and Jayne had met. He told himself that he had added _gravitas_, but he knew he was not a young man any more. The torture he had endured with Wash at Niska's hands had left him with a heart murmur and deafness in his left ear, the one that Niska had cut off as "change" for Wash' ransom. Simon thought the deafness was psychosomatic as much as physical, although an airlock scare had exacerbated the damage.

When he really looked at the crew he could see how the others had changed over the past decade. Jayne and Zoe were the least affected, although he suspected Zoe had started colouring her hair after Hope was born. She had shown no interest in finding a new partner, although Mal saw the appreciative looks she got, just walking down the street.  
Jayne was still rock hard at near fifty, but his hair was rapidly greying and when he allowed his beard to grow in it was almost all white.  
There was little change in Simon, but he was still only in his early thirties. More relaxed, and when he was with David, he seemed to smile all the time.  
The changes in River had less to do with aging than with maturity. She wore her shiny chestnut hair up in a complex topknot and her clothing was as elegant as it was practical. She rarely wore dresses now, preferring slim jumpsuits, usually in black. Kaylee said she had learned style from Inara, but Mal wondered if it was just her Core memories coming forward as she learned to be human again.

And in Mal's eyes, Kaylee was unchanged. He did not see that her round girlish figure was beginning to be plump, or that her constant smile had etched laugh lines around her eyes and mouth. She was still the sunshine that chased away his black clouds. And that would never change.

With each stop over on Persephone Serenity's work for Perseus Alleyne increased. Their medical clinics, as Mal had promised, meant that they could set a route well in advance, allowing Perse to make plans, but their small speedy ship was able to make side trips to worlds whose needs were for smaller cargoes than the big ships could carry profitably.  
When they were on Persephone, it had become a custom to stay with Perse. His loneliness had decreased as he settled into the business community, but having actual family, not just his self contained sister and her daughter , but the whole Serenity crew, gave him a comfort that he had never had after the Alleyne Family Compact was broken up by the Independence War.

Hope even took over a part of his garden, growing vegetables for her uncle and her ship family. On Serenity she kept the hydroponic garden that had been built in one of the passenger cabins. Between the family's needs and the hydroponic bay, Serenity was taking fewer and fewer passengers.  
Mal and Kalee had taken over one passenger room and the baby's crib was there. Derry had graduated to a crew bunk, of which he was inordinately proud, before his sister was born. His parents appreciated the relative privacy.  
Zoe and Hope shared the large bunk, originally the captain's cabin when the Firefly was designed, where Zoe had lived with Wash. She had moved back in when Hope was born, in spite of the difficulty with carrying a baby or squirming toddler on the ladder. Everyone had expected Hope to ask for her own bunk when Derry was moved from his parent's cabin but she was content.  
Like Mal and Kaylee, Simon and David shared a passenger cabin.  
Jayne had kept his bunk for nearly 15 years now. He made it an intensely personal space and rarely did any other crew member enter it.  
River had chosen a crew bunk over her passenger room when she become the ship's pilot. Its snug dimensions felt like a womb to her. Kaylee had helped her paint the original grey metallic walls .  
Occasionally at planet fall River would bring a young man home. Most were disconcerted by her quirky decor of gauzy fabrics and vicious weapons. But one or two were repeat visitors. although months could pass between visits. River herself was enjoying being the exotic visitor when they went dirtside on the small words the clinic and their one off jobs took them too. Once landed , she had no actual responsibilities and would go off exploring. Although Simon fretted, he could understand, intellectually at least, that his beloved baby sister was more dangerous than anything a Rim World could produce.  
Kaylee was the first to catch on that River's explorations were as much of the local youths as of the repetitively terraformed Rim worlds. Kaylee was reminded of her own obsession with spacers when she was stuck on her home world of Harvest. She could see River's charm for the farmboys and factory hands: although River's attraction to them was baffling.  
"They are easy" River told her. " Most have no experience and few ideas. If I read them it's not complicated. Eat. Rut. And they have lovely strong bodies and great enthusiasm for the task I give them."  
"I reckon that task is sexin you?"  
"Duh, meimei. There's no one for me on Serenity. You managed to find two. if you count that flirt with my brother. But he 's out for me, also his Davie, shue but sly, your husband and .. Jayne. Well, I suppose Jayne would be possible, but he is very old, you know."  
"Old? Nah he's ... gosh I guess I just never look at him anymore. How old d'ya think he is."  
"He's got a decade on the Captain and Mal has more than a decade on me. He must be pushing fifty."

"Wow. Pretty fit for an old guy!"  
"We could check him out on the Cortex. I'm sure there is a record of his criminal past. How often do you think he's been bound by law?"  
"Before Serenity? Who knows? He's done jail time fer sure, and we've all been grabbed before Miranda once or twice."  
"In any case, Jayne has something goin on with Helen from Heart of Gold. He's in the Cortex with her almost every cycle. Sometimes she calls him, sometimes her calls her."  
"Wow, The big blonde? She seemed real nice. And tough enough to stand up to Jayne. Might even be able to take him at arm wrestling."


End file.
